Talking electronics with Vincent Gaillardot
At a time when the FIA are pushing forward with a single Electronic Control Unit standard for the entire F1 field in 2008, it is interesting to understand how much of a part electronics play in the running of modern F1 machinery. Renault`s Vincent Gaillardot explains how you can’t even start an F1 engine without the hardware and programmes developed at Viry... Electronics are an area of serious interest for the modern engineer. Control systems, telemetry, data acquisition, performance and also reliability: electronics are everywhere in Formula 1. To cope with the challenge, the Renault F1 Team has structured itself appropriately on both sides of the Channel.

The electronics department at Viry includes around 30 people: their work gives birth to the engine’s `brain`, the control box and programmes without which the car couldn’t even be started. “Our activities are divided into two main parts,” explains Vincent Gaillardot, who runs this sector. “On one side, we work on the hardware – that’s to say the ECU on the car. On the other, we develop software programmes that allow us to use these tools.”

The electronics department at Viry represents roughly 10 percent of the factory’s operations. The group is divided into production and maintenance groups, a performance group, software, integration and approval, and then advanced studies.

In terms of hardware, close collaboration with Magneti-Marelli, an historic partner of Renault in motorsport, gave birth to the Step 11 system that was used for the first time in 2005. It enables the team to manage engine and chassis parameters from a single unit, where previously two boxes were needed. The main priority was to enable the chassis and engine to communicate in total harmony. “Our aim is to achieve total integration,” explains Gaillardot. “Enstone has a parallel organisation to ours. We share the Step 11 unit, and each side develops the functions it requires.”

Step 11 brings unquestionable physical advantages: one box instead of two mean weight gains in wiring looms and fewer sensors. It also translates to faster dialogue between engine and chassis functions. Processing power is four times greater than the previous system, data storage capacity is ten times greater, and the bandwidth used to collect the information is three times’ greater.

“A typical PC uses a single processor!” explains Gaillardot. “In F1, this kind of unit includes more than 15!” Overall, the total capacity of the unit is estimated at roughly 2000 MIPS (Million instructions per second). But the hardware isn’t limited to this single box. Viry also works on voltage regulators, telemetry broadcast units, engine speed sensors, the wiring loom, ignition coils and the injectors.

On the software side, development is continuous. “We work on developing the engine control systems, which in turn bring performance. We manage the fuel injection, sparking, all the parameters with which the engine can be controlled,” continues Gaillardot. “The software is developed according to a very precise specification, and development is on-going. For example, we had a new software spec at every race in 2005.”

These changes focus on two areas: improving the reliability of the systems, and integrating new functions in order to improve performance. They are developed jointly with Enstone to optimise the engine and chassis systems according to the new possibilities of the Step 11 hardware. What’s more, the areas where electronics have an impact are always growing: “We are now able to do things that we never thought we would be able to ten years ago,” reveals Gaillardot.

Finally, the V8 project has not radically changed the electronics department; indeed, the team will continue working in the same way. “The technology of the engine control systems does not change with the new architecture,” concludes Gaillardot. “We are working with a new product, and our work now focuses on optimising how the V8 runs. But the technology we are using is the same. As are the objectives: we want to retain our titles!”


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