Renault hit back at Red Bull as engine row rumbles on

Renault Sport F1 chief Cyril Abiteboul chats to Red Bull's Christian Horner

Renault have hit back at Red Bull, accusing the former world champions of “lying” and denying their engine is solely to blame for the team’s poor start to the season.

In a renewal of the war of words between the two parties which flared up last season, Renault came under fresh fire from Red Bull chief Christian Horner in the wake of the season-opening Australian GP when his team finished a lap down on Mercedes.

Describing the French manufacturer’s engine programme as being in “a bit of a mess”, Horner claimed Renault had gone backwards in performance in the fortnight since the final pre-season test to the point where their engines were a massive 100 brake horsepower down on Mercedes in Melbourne.

Horner’s comments were made after Red Bull designer Adrian Newey had already said that there was “no obvious light at the end of the tunnel” to Renault’s travails, which have been apparent since F1’s return turbo engines at the start of 2014.

But having been publicly rounded on by their principal engine partner in recent weeks, Renault have hit back at Red Bull ahead of this weekend’s Malaysia GP. Cyril Abiteboul, Renault Sport’s managing director, insisted Newey’s criticisms were unwarranted.

“It’s hard to have a partner who lies,” the Frenchman was quoted as saying by The Sun.

“Adrian is a charming man and an outstanding engineer but he has spent his life criticising his engine manufacturers. And he’s too old to change.”

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March 29, 2015

Having being usurped by Mercedes as F1’s benchmark team at the onset of the sport’s new era of hybrid technology, Red Bull were already outspoken in their criticism of their French supplier last season with their complaints eventually prompting an overhaul of Renault’s engine programme.

Former Caterham team boss Abiteboul was hired with Red Bull’s blessing, while legendary engine guru Mario Illien is being used as a consultant to help drive improvements at Viry-Chatillon, although his input isn’t expected to be felt until later in the year. Renault have the most engine development tokens of any manufacturer - 12 - left to use druing the season.

However, despite holding their hands up to chronic driveability problems with their engine during the Melbourne weekend, Renault have argued that it isn’t only their power unit which is holding Red Bull's RB11 back.

“Australia certainly wasn’t an easy weekend and we fell short of our own expectations, and those of our clients. We need to work together to understand our issues, both within the power unit and the chassis,” Abiteboul said in Renault’s Malaysia preview. 

“Our figures have shown that the lap-time deficit between Red Bull and Mercedes in Melbourne was equally split between driveability issues, engine performance and chassis performance. It’s therefore the overall package that needs some help and we have been working with the team to move forward.”

The growing tension between Red Bull and Renault appears to have been underlined by a Tweet from Abiteboul prior to his departure to Malaysia, with the Frenchman tweeting the image of a pair of boxing gloves alongside the words: “Packing up to Malaysia. Race (round?) 2.”

Fittingly, Abiteboul and Horner will appear alongside each other in the Team Principals' Press Conference at Sepang, which will air live on Sky F1 at 8am on Friday morning.

Nico Rosberg saddened by demise of German GP from 2015 calendar

Nico Rosberg celebrates winning last year's German GP

A disappointed Nico Rosberg has admitted that it “feels wrong” that his home German GP will not take place this season.

Despite hope that an 11th-hour deal could be struck for the historic event to stay on the 2015 schedule, the FIA confirmed last week that the race had been cancelled after neither the Nurburging, the scheduled hosts, nor Hockenheim could agree a deal.

A disappointed Nico Rosberg has admitted that it “feels wrong” that his home German GP will not take place this season.

The race’s demise means that Germany will not feature in the season for just the third time in F1’s history, with its last absence coming back in 1960.

And Rosberg, who won last year’s event for Mercedes at Hockenheim and is one of three German drivers on the 2015 grid, told Sky Sports News HQ: “It feels wrong to have a Formula 1 World Championship without the German GP.

“The German GP is just legendary. It’s very strange and very surprising. It’s disappointing.”

Under the terms of the German venues' long-standing race share agreement, the Nurburgring had been slated to stage the 2015 race but the circuit’s new owners failed to agree a deal with Bernie Ecclestone. Hockenheim subsequently held talks about stepping in but ultimately decided that the timeframe before the scheduled July race was too short to make a success of the event with tickets having not yet gone on sale.

The failure of either circuit to secure a deal comes despite Toto Wolff, the head of Mercedes motorsport, revealing that the manufacturer offered to underwrite half of any losses suffered by a 2015 German GP.

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March 29, 2015

Rosberg and Wolff were speaking in Malaysia ahead of this weekend’s second round of the season where world champions Mercedes will aim to build on their dominant start to the season in Australia.

In keeping with the theme from the closing months of last season, it was Lewis Hamilton rather than Rosberg who led the way in Melbourne to claim the early 2015 championship lead. The German driver has only once finished ahead of his team-mate on the last eight occasions both cars have made the chequered flag, and although not pinning particular significance on winning at Sepang, Rosberg admits he is keen to turn the tables.

“It’s not crucial because it’s still early days in the championship, but every race is important," Rosberg said.

“So of course my aim is to turn it round this weekend.”

Fernando Alonso headlines Thursday's Press Conference

Fernando Alonso : To face media on Thursday

Fernando Alonso will face the media for the first time since his accident during testing in Thursday’s Drivers’ Press Conference ahead of the Malaysia GP.

The Spaniard is returning to the cockpit at Sepang ahead of his second McLaren debut having been forced to sit out the season-opening race in Australia.

Inevitably there will be plenty of questions regarding the cause of the accident, which remains one of F1’s most mysterious of recent years.

Alongside Alonso will be Nico Rosberg of Mercedes, Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. Completing the line-up are two rookies who impressed in Melbourne – Felipe Nasr and Carlos Sainz of Sauber and Toro Rosso respectively.

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March 26, 2015

Cyril Abiteboul and Christian Horner will meet in Friday's Press Conference

On Friday, Renault and Red Bull square off as their war of words continues over the performance of the French firm’s power unit. Cyril Abiteboul will be representing Renault, while Red Bull’s Christian Horner and Toro Rosso’s Franz Tost will also be present.

Completing the line-up are Pirelli’s Paul Hembery, Lotus CEO Matthew Carter and Bob Fernley of Force India.

Lewis Hamilton: 'Unfair if rules changed to stop Mercedes'

Lewis Hamilton says it would be unfair if F1’s current technical regulations were amended to curb Mercedes’ current domination.

After scoring a record-breaking 11 one-two finishes in 2014, the Silver Arrows began the new season in emphatic fashion last week in Australia as Hamilton eased to victory ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

But no sooner had the champagne been sprayed than criticism was being voiced elsewhere in the paddock about the the size of Mercedes’ superiority, measured at 1.4 seconds in qualifying and over half a minute on race day.

"When we were winning, we were never winning with the advantage that they have,” complained Red Bull boss Christian Horner. "The FIA within the rules have an equalisation mechanism. Perhaps it’s something they need to have a look at.”

Reigning world champion Hamilton, unsurprisingly, takes a different view.

“We all have the same regulations and it’s a race of who does the best with them. Ultimately they did the job many years ago and now we are doing the job. It would be unfair in that sense. Our team has worked very, very hard with the same rules - and we’ve done a good job,” he told Sky Sports News HQ.

Formula One World champion, Lewis Hamilton hopes that he can renew his contract with Mercedes by this weekend ahead of the Malaysia GP

Seemingly ready to lock horns with their rivals both on and off the track, Hamilton’s team-mate Nico Rosberg has invited Sebastian Vettel, with whom Red Bull themselves dominated the sport at the turn of the decade, to Mercedes' engineering debrief on Friday. A battle for the hearts and minds of the viewing public is well underway.

But it’s the return of Hamilton’s former team-mate at McLaren, Fernando Alonso, which is bound to be the centre of attention at the start of the weekend with the Spaniard poised return to action for the first time since his crash in testing a month ago.

“We never want to any drivers not racing, especially due to health issues or something caused by F1,” said Hamilton. “Safety is key, and our primary goal is to make sure all the drivers are kept safe. It’s good that he’s fit and able to come back. Plus, he’s a two-time champion and we need to have the best drivers here.”

Sky Sports F1 will show every session from the Malaysia Grand Prix weekend live and available on the move with SkyGo. The race starts at 8am on Sunday March 29, with comprehensive build-up underway from 6:30am.

Fernando Alonso anticipates 'tough' weekend at the Malaysia GP

Fernando Alonso is bracing himself for a “tough” weekend in Malaysia as he embarks on his F1 comeback after suffering concussion in a pre-season testing accident.

If Alonso’s own wellbeing isn’t concern enough at Sepang this weekend, he must also re-acquaint himself with McLaren’s troublesome MP4-30. Forced to miss the Australian GP as a result of his crash in Barcelona last month, the Spaniard watched on as team-mate Jenson Button finished last in Melbourne while a blown Honda engine left stand-in Kevin Magnussen unable to start.

Although McLaren’s drivers think the car will come good eventually, there is a long road ahead - a fact Alonso was quick to acknowledge.

“It’s clear we have a lot of work ahead of us but Jenson’s result in Melbourne was encouraging from the point of view of reliability and data collection, which are extremely important,” he said.

“I’d also like to say thanks to Kevin for his efforts over the weekend, and it’s a real shame he wasn’t able to get to the grid.”

Alonso was temporarily knocked unconscious after losing control at Turn Three of the Circuit de Catalunya on February 22 and spent three nights in hospital.

The risk of a secondary concussion prevented him making the trip to Australia but after passing reflex and memory tests at the weekend, the 33-year-old is heading to the Far East.

Alonso, a three-time Malaysia GP winner – including with McLaren when he drove for them in 2007 - must undergo further checks on Thursday before he takes to the track ahead of the season’s most gruelling race.

“I’ve been working hard on my fitness and I feel good and ready to go this weekend,” he said. “The heat in Malaysia is always very tough for the drivers but I’ve been focusing on this in my training and I’m definitely prepared for all of the weather conditions that we can face in Sepang.”

Alonso, who has also been using McLaren’s simulator, added: “Everyone in McLaren-Honda is working hard to develop the package and keep building momentum with each race.

“The weekend will be tough, but I’m looking forward to getting into the MP4-30 for the first time in a Grand Prix and getting back to racing.”

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March 27, 2015