Denis Chevrier about 100% Renault victory

The Renault F1 Team’s Head of Engine Operations talks about the emotion of 100% Renault championship victory and about the end of the V10 engines in the Formula One. Renault pioneered the V10 in Formula One and now it won the final V10 Championship.

Interview with Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Operations

Denis, what was the emotion like on Sunday night?
"It was a dream finish to the year. We had a superb weekend in China. We went there with the ambition to win the race, and gave ourselves the best possible means to do it. Luck had nothing to with it on Sunday. We started from pole, and led every lap. We overcame the safety car periods that negated our advantage. The real satisfaction is to have surprised our competitors, and to have been stronger than them at the final race."

It was suggested that Renault was winning titles without panache. Is this the perfect response?
"I think so. Through the summer, we played things defensively, did what we had to, took no unnecessary risks and scored the points we needed. That was our priority, to win the drivers’ championship, then once we had done that, we put all our efforts into the constructors’ title."

What can you say about the performance of the E spec RS25 engine?
"We built the engines to this specification in order to provide the best possible level of performance at this final race. Indeed, we only made partial use of the engine’s potential owing the unusual circumstances of the race. It didn’t show everything it was capable of, but it did plenty enough…"

Renault pioneered the V10 in Formula One, and it won the final V10 championship. What does that mean?
"We are now world champions, and that is the main emotion. The fact that this is also the final V10 gives us a feeling of nostalgia, and we celebrated it afterwards in the garage This was the most powerful V10 engine we have ever produced, so it was fitting that it should play a decisive role in winning the championship."
You have spent twenty years at Renault – what does this title mean?
"When we win at the track, our first thoughts are for all of those people who we know are back at the factory, and putting all their energy into making our performances possible. The real difference in having a Renault diamond on the nose of the car, rather than being an engine supplier, is the number of people involved in the victory. Not only those people we know, but all those we don’t who have enjoyed it as well. It is a proud feeling to have won it for them."