May 28 (GMM) Banning the off-throttle blowing of exhaust is a reliability issue for Renault.

That is the claim of Adrian Newey, whose Red Bull RB7 car is said to benefit most from the aggressive off-throttle exhaust blowing in 2011 thanks to its clever Renault engine mapping.

McLaren chief Martin Whitmarsh told the BBC on Saturday that he "has to believe" Renault's reasoning for pushing for the off-throttle ban to be delayed until after Canada.

The FIA wanted to stop the practice immediately in Spain a week ago, but - based on the feedback of some teams - agreed to delay a ban until the next meeting of the technical working group.

Newey said in Monaco that Renault's engines open to full throttle when the driver is not pressing the accelerator "for exhaust valve cooling".

He is implying that an off-throttle blowing ban is therefore a reliability issue for the Renault teams.

"For them (Renault) to change that would be quite a big issue, because the engine's not proven that it would be reliable if the throttle remained closed in that situation," said Red Bull car designer Newey.

Latest F1 News - Mobile version

26 Feb: New Ferrari not quickest in field - Domenicali 26 Feb: Red Bull still best in 2013 - Tost 26 Feb: 2014 French grand prix 'possible' - Prost 26 Feb: Danica Patrick 'not interested' in F1 switch 26 Feb: Report - Gilles Simon working on F1 engine for Honda 26 Feb: Gutierrez plays down link to Carlos Slim 26 Feb: Caterham exhaust 'legal' insists van der Garde 26 Feb: McLaren replaces Mercedes-bound Lowe 25 Feb: 'Engine maps' trouble for Red Bull, Lotus - report 25 Feb: Mercedes-bound Lowe to miss 2013 opener - report 25 Feb: Mercedes 'in group of teams' behind Red Bull - Lauda 25 Feb: Gutierrez expects Hulkenberg to beat him early in 2013 25 Feb: New Ferrari 'much better' than 2012 - Massa 25 Feb: Teams 'will adapt' to new tyre situation - Gutierrez 25 Feb: Tight rules make today's F1 cars 'the same' - Forghieri 25 Feb: Williams removes controversial exhaust trick 25 Feb: Contract 'conflicts' cause of Marussia test snub - Razia 25 Feb: Lotus to fight Red Bull for title - Gutierrez 25 Feb: Marussia 'ahead of Caterham' - Chilton 25 Feb: Sutil will not stay in F1 as test driver The latest F1 News - Mobile Version