“Courageous” Renault ran out of time to get F1 engine on par with rivals

Renault’s powertrain department in Viry took risks with last year’s RE22 engine on the basis that it could gain performance before its specification was frozen, and then deal with reliability issues with FIA-approved fixes if necessary.

However, in 2023, it was clear that the essentially unchanged RE23 still lagged behind rivals Honda, Mercedes and Ferrari by around 20-30 bhp.

With the backing of the FIA, efforts were made this summer to gain…