Renault cannot miss midfield

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Published on 08 Feb 2017 08:24
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By: Fergal Walsh

Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul has told Autosport that the team are eyeing a firm midfield position in the 2017 season, adding that there will be no excuse for failing to achieve this.

The French company returned to F1 as a works team in 2016, following a late takeover of Lotus. They were left with very little time to properly develop their car, and Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen could only lead the team to ninth in the Constructors' Championship, ahead of regular backmarkers Sauber and Manor.

This year, however, Renault are looking to rectify this, and they are starting with a workforce that has grown by 20% in the past year. They have also been focused on the new 2017 regulations for some time - and Abiteboul is positive about this.

"Now that there's a reset of regulations, in my opinion it's even better because we have no excuse not to be at the same level as the midfield at the start of the season," he said.

"But against the top teams it's still going to take some time. We need to invest in the infrastructure, because if I'm honest, the other teams continue to drift away. They are developing quicker than we are developing. That's why we need to grow the infrastructure."

According to Bob Bell, Renault's Chief Technical Officer, a fresh working approach among the engine team in France has also helped Renault's power unit take a significant step up in terms of its performance - it had been the third best engine in 2015, behind those from Mercedes and Ferrari.

"They are much more disciplined and rigorous about explicitly saying what the modifications that they make and bring to the track are capable of delivering," he said.

"Sometimes when you bring in engine development, it might make the engine quicker on a dyno but when you install it on the car you see some losses on a chassis rate.

"Just as an example, perhaps if you make the engine more performant and in the process it runs hotter, you have to make your radiators slightly bigger so overall you get less benefit. Overall on the engine side, we've known exactly what we're getting and it's done what it's said on the tin."

Renault will be hoping that these combined efforts pay off in 2017, so that they can find themselves in the position they are clearly committed to taking, and provide Palmer and new signing Nico Hulkenberg with the tools they need to impress.

Mason Hawker

F1 News Renault