Renault found cause: 'Optimistic about more reliable engine'

Unreliability is a word that seems inextricably linked to Renault over the past decade. The engine manufacturer also delivered another unreliable engine to Alpine F1 in 2022, but thinks it will have solved its biggest problems before 2023.

The unreliability of the Renault engine was particularly evident aboard Fernando Alonso's Alpine. The Spaniard became increasingly furious with his team as the season progressed. The two-time world champion summed up after the end of the last F1 season that the team only got the points they deserved in about 19 races half the time. Bruno Famin, the engine manufacturer's chief, however, insisted throughout the season that there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the engine. Famin has now found the pain point, though.

Water pump was the problem at Renault

Motorsport.com writes that there was nothing wrong with the concept of the engine, but that it was precisely in the auxiliaries that there were flaws. Famin: "In Singapore, we did have real problems with the engine. That was strange because we had two different problems in a span of eight laps. All the other problems were in the auxiliaries side; the water pump and the fuel pump. This is something we're quite optimistic that we will be able to solve before 2023."

With that, Renault does not think it will have to scale back the engine. That is good news for Alpine, which is not expected to have to sacrifice power next year and does have a more reliable and may or may not be faster engine. Famin: "The water pump has been a headache for us all season. We already tried to do as much as possible about it in '22, but that was obviously not enough." Renault is going to change the concept of the water pump for next season. By then, the problem should be solved.