Bell: Switch to V8 engines isn't a big issue.

Renault F1 technical director, Bob Bell has said that the switch from using V10 to V8 engines next year is a 'relatively normal business'.

Speaking prior to the start of testing at Barcelona next week, when Renault will run for three-days - from November 30 to December 2, Bell added that while they don't underestimate the task, they are nevertheless confident. As such unlike many of the other teams the regie have opted not to develop an interim car, a decision that means their new V8 power-plant will not now make its track debut until January, as it can't be installed into this season's R25.

"We have taken a pragmatic decision not to run an interim car, based on the potential return on investment involved in this type of project," explained Bell to the official Renault F1 team website.

"Firstly, there is a question of timing: to gain real advantage from an interim car, it would need to have been running very early, but to achieve this we would have been using an interim 'V8' rather than a definitive design.

"Secondly, there is the question of inter-changeability: we are changing engine 'V' angle from 72 degrees to 90 next year, so an interim car would have required a large commitment of resources to produce a relatively unrepresentative chassis.

"For any team, the decision to produce an interim car is not without consequences - it demands manpower, money and a lot of other resources. Within the timing, budgetary and human constraints of our 2006 project, the return on investment would have been low.

"As such we will now run the R25 [during winter testing] with V10 engines that are suitably detuned to represent the power levels of the V8 engine.

"This will give the drivers a feel for next year's engine performance, and allow us to simulate the 2006 tyre energy levels in order to advance with development. It is a cost-effective solution that will allow us work from a well-known, reliable chassis baseline."

In January however, it will be full-steam ahead and Renault aim to be out on track very quickly with their V8.

"Track testing is crucial, and we cannot reproduce every aspect of the engine's environment on the dyno," conceded Bell. "Therefore we have planned our project accordingly, to have two cars running very quickly in the New Year and maximise our running with a definitive [V8] engine. In terms of installation, both this and the major ancillaries such as the oil and water systems, are not actually significantly different to this year.

"We have successfully negotiated changes in engine architecture in recent seasons, so we don't underestimate how much work it involves. But the advantage of having done that is that this major change seems to us, like relatively normal business."