Abiteboul: Renault teams have a qualifying mode now

Renault were expected to roll-out the extra power mode only at Monza with their Spec-3 engine roll-out, but they are confident that they can already give their own team and their customers, Red Bull and McLaren, a much-needed boost for qualifying where their rivals have traditionally enjoyed an edge.

In Canada, Renault released the second spec engine which reportedly found them an extra 20-bhp thanks to the BP/Castrol fuel they use. Red Bull gained about 12-bhp as they use Exxon/Mobil to fuel their cars.

But according to Auto Motor und Sport, since then the French outfit completed a marathon five-day dyno-test of the current engines and they are now confident enough to unleash the qualy-mode they have been without until now.

Cyril Abiteboul confirmed, "We have a qualifying mode now. This applies to us and our customers. We were able to extract a bit more performance in qualifying, but now the jump is significant.

Extensive runs on the dyno confirmed that more performance can be extracted from the current power unit without compromising reliability which is always the problem when dialling up the power.

Engine chief Remy Taffin explained, "Getting more power from the engine is no secret, you just have to drive with more aggressive settings. However, the engine can be damaged as it's always a compromise between durability and performance."

Renault have labelled the current PU package as 'Spec-2 Evolution' which precedes the Spec-3 units that will be released after the summer break. Another 2o-bhp or so expected from that future upgrade.

The flurry of activity on the engine at Renault front comes in the wake of their high profile divorce from Red Bull, suggesting that the French outfit intends to prove that Red Bull have made the wrong decision to shack up with Honda.

After a dozen years, four of which together they dominated Formula 1, Red Bull and Renault will part at the end of this season which, in terms of finances, will cost the French manufacturer around $20-million.

Renault power units will now be bolted on to the back of the works cars and McLaren, but Abiteboul insists that this will not impact the Renault programme, "Financially and technically, this has no impact on our development work."

"We still have four cars in use and loads of test beds. Together from this, we can gather a great deal of data. Our plan continues regardless of Red Bull."

Abiteboul also revealed that a lighter, more compact and durable MGU-K will be available for Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg at Red Bull Ring but not for the customers who are in a different phase of usage.

The Renault F1 chief acknowledged, "The new MGU-K is lighter, more compact and last longer because we manage the temperatures better without sacrificing performance. Qualifying mode has nothing to do with the MGU-K. It's all down to the internal combustion engine."

In the pecking order of the current engine stakes, Mercedes and Ferrari are ahead, with Renault a step down from the top two teams and Honda trailing.

Taffin is bullish about his team's goals,"Next year, we want to catch up with Ferrari and Mercedes completely. The gap should be substantially reduced this season. In race mode, we are already very close. Now it's about catching up in qualifying as well."