25/05/2016
NEWS STORY
Daniel Ricciardo and Kevin Magnussen will have the upgraded Renault power units at Monaco this weekend.
It was very much a case of 'good news, bad news', when Renault confirmed that its much anticipated new engine would be available this weekend.
While the good news is that the new unit, which it is claimed could be worth half-a-second a lap, is available, the bad news is that both the works team and Red Bull will only have access to one unit apiece.
While the decision to favour Kevin Magnussen at Renault makes sense, there was widespread speculation as to whether Daniel Ricciardo or Max Verstappen would be favoured at Red Bull.
Whilst the Australian, still smarting following his team's strategic error in Spain, is effectively the lead driver for the Austrian team, the situation is complicated by the fact that Verstappen, who won in Barcelona (just in case you missed it) is the team's rising star and the one grabbing all the headlines.
That said, Monaco is not as demanding on the engine at Monaco as most circuits, and by the time the F1 circus gets to the next race, Canada which is demanding, Renault should be able to supply all four drivers with units.
"We've been working on the new spec since the start of the season," said Remi Taffin, "but needed to sign off all the parts for reliability and mileage before using on track. The tests were very positive and showed it to be more powerful and driveable.
"This new spec includes significant modifications to the combustion system," he added. "It will make the ICE more powerful but also efficient, leading to a gain of around half a second per lap. We've used a small proportion of our token allocation for this upgrade."
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