Fuel has emerged with a big role to play in F1’s new V6-powered era.<\/p>\n
Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said struggling Renault took a 12 horse power step forward last time out in Barcelona, thanks entirely to a new blend of fuel supplied by French partner Total.<\/p>\n
And Red Bull team boss Christian Horner sees more gains to come.<\/p>\n
According to correspondent Schmidt, it was at Red Bull’s considerable expense that the new Total fuel was brought in line with homologation so that it could debut in Spain.<\/p>\n
“We’re talking about 20 horse power,” he said.\u00a0 “Mercedes has the advantage — you can see it in comparison to their customer teams.”<\/p>\n
According to correspondent Michael Schmidt, Horner may be referring to McLaren, who power their Mercedes V6 with fuel supplied by team sponsor Mobil.<\/p>\n
But it appears the other Mercedes teams – the works outfit as well as Force India and Williams – are all using the currently-superior in-house fuel developed by Mercedes’ title sponsor Petronas.<\/p>\n
Renault engine boss Rob White said: “With the turbo engines, the fuel suppliers started at zero, which is why we see these big leaps in performance at the beginning.”<\/p>\n
According to Italian reports, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has also recognised the importance of fuel in 2014, urging the Maranello team to move closer to its works supplier, Shell.<\/p>\n
In Barcelona, only Red Bull got the 12 horse power-better new Total fuel, with Renault customers Lotus, Toro Rosso and Caterham having to wait until this weekend in Monaco.<\/p>\n
Reigning world champions Red Bull have reportedly calculated the advantage of the Barcelona fuel versus the previous spec at three tenths on the straight.<\/p>\n
Indeed, while Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg got his W05 up to 334.5kph on the straight, Daniel Ricciardo was not far behind, at 328.8.<\/p>\n
Horner said: “If we can reduce our engine deficit by 50 per cent, we can beat Mercedes.”<\/p>\n
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