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Renault says that it is prepared for some of its customers to have to take a grid penalty before the end of the current campaign.
Under 2014 regulations, drivers are permitted to use no more than five versions of the six elements which make up the Power Unit. If they use a sixth version, a driver will sustain a 10 place grid penalty, a fate which already struck Daniil Kvyat in Italy.
With half of the grid having used five versions, Renault head of track operations Remi Taffin says more penalties will come and expects teams not to run as much in practice in order to save parts.
"Due to the strain on each part, we will, where possible, introduce new components for this race," he said ahead of this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.
"Reliability will start to play a major role in results at this point in the season since every team and driver has had to mix and match as we have learned more on the operation of the power unit.
"To keep aces in hand, we may even see teams run fewer miles in practice to save the engines for the rest of the year.
We are however fairly at ease on this front since we have committed ourselves to introduce a sixth power unit where needed.
"The picture is a lot clearer now and although not exactly ideal to have to introduce new parts and take penalties, we can do this at races where the impact will be minimised. We believe Suzuka will be a good challenge, but one that we are looking forward to with no worries."
Renault has claimed four of the last five wins at Suzuka, courtesy of Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.
