Engine analysis - Renault RS26 20 November 2006
The RS26 was the jewel in the Renault's crown. The basis for its design included all the things that were good about its V10 predecessor, the RS25, meaning the team weren't really starting from scratch, even if they were losing two cylinders. The concept was a reliable, fuel efficient engine, that wouldn't need to rev extraordinarily highly in order to be competitive. But Renault did have to modify its intended development path slightly, pushing things on towards the end of the season as Ferrari got closer and closer. They seemingly pushed too far at Monza, where Fernando Alonso's unit failed, and the team reined things in slightly for China and Japan - just by enough to avoid reliability problems and hence beat Ferrari.
