Want to know what it takes to build a 2.4-litre V8 F1 engine? We did, so AUTOSPORT's sister magazine F1 Racing went straight to the source – Renault Sport's engine HQ – to learn the secrets of horsepower

Perhaps it's inappropriate to think too deeply about the satisfaction to be had from ushering a cool, lubricated, light-alloy piston into the tight concentric embrace of a V8 engine block. But believe me, it is very real.

And it helps explain the calm, satisfied deliberation of Renault F1 engine-build trainees Francois Giardino and Florian Hubert as they set about reassembling the RS26 2.4-litre V8 that powered Fernando Alonso to pole and victory at Monaco and Silverstone in 2006.

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