Renault's 2015 F1 engine has been bashed "from pillar to post," according to Matthew Taylor of FOX SPORTS. It has been called "too slow, unreliable and showing no sign of getting any better." And now the "ultimate insult -- it's slower than the Honda." That is right, "the spluttering element that has powered McLaren's Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso" apparently has an "extra 25 horsepower on Renault's engine." The claims were made by "none other than the Japanese manufacturer's motorsport chief Yasuhisa Arai." But regardless of the team's poor results, Arai is adamant his engine is "holding its own" in Honda's first year back in F1. Arai: "Our engine is a little bit behind Ferrari but much better than the Renault team. Mercedes are still so far away. But I have confidence that the second half of the season, we will try hard to catch the top two teams." Just "how far Honda can really develop" its engine in the final rounds "remains to be seen, but both Alonso and Button will hope an aggravating year can be somewhat tempered by a competitive back end to the season" (FOX SPORTS, 9/1).
