Renault’s 2019 F1 Engine Now Produces Over 1,000 HP In Qualifying Trim

The Renault F1 team claims that its race cars are able to pump out more than 1,000 horespower in qualifying trim this season.

German publication Auto Motor und Sport recently spoke with Renault engine boss Remi Taffin, who revealed that the French outfit has reached the four-figure horsepower mark, though only under specific circumstances.

“There are only certain performance peaks in qualifying,” he said. “We can not always get that performance. It depends on many factors. For example, the distance and the outside temperatures.”

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While Renault is happy to admit publicly how much power it’s managed to extract from its 1.6-liter turbocharged V6 hybrid powertrain, the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari aren’t so forthcoming and won’t disclose how much their own engines put out. However, there’s certainly a good chance that they are at least on par with the French; on-track results show that even if Renault has the most powerful engine in qualifying trim (which is not necessarily the case), it is still lagging behind the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing with its results.

Renault’s best-placed driver in the championship standings is Daniel Ricciardo who sits in 11th with 22 championship points, behind the likes of McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr., Toro Rosso’s Danill Kvyat and Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen. Renault is also sitting behind McLaren and Toro Rosso in the Constructors’ championship, well below its goal of chasing down the front-runners of Red Bull Racing, Ferrari, and Mercedes.

Evidently, big horsepower figures might be something nice to brag about to your rivals but in Formula 1, big power doesn’t necessarily mean fast cars.