Thursday May 15th, 2003

McLaren-Mercedes Mario Illien tops the list of potential replacements for departing Renault engine guru Jean-Jacques His, Swiss daily Blick reported today.

Illien, 53 and born in Switzerland, is, according to the report, the man Renault want to take over engine design from His, who announced his decision to leave the French squad earlier this month after 30 years with the company.

Illien, whose Ilmor company provide Mercedes-Benz engines to McLaren, has helped the team to 34 victories in the partnership, and he has also enjoyed success in the IndyCar and CART series in America.

Mercedes, who have a shareholding stake in Ilmor, brought in Werner Laurenz from BMW's engine development department two months ago and Renault are believed to be keen on capturing Illien to head up their engine design.

Renault have impressed this season on the track, but technical director Mike Gascoyne has openly admitted that the team's performance has been held back by a lack of horsepower.

Published at 13:39:54 GMT

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(03-11-2005): Australian GP Paddock Gossip (03-09-2005): Greece Finds Site for Formula One Track (03-09-2005): Red Bull Set to Get Honda Engines in 2006 (03-08-2005): Schumacher in Line for Sporting Oscars (03-07-2005): Daily Grapevine Sunday Analysis - Australia

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