RENAULT
--- TEAM INFO ---
TEAM PRINCIPAL - Flavio Briatore
TEAM COLOURS - Yellow, White, Orange, Red
CAR - Renault R29
ENGINE SUPPLIER - Renault
TYRES - Bridgestone
TECHINCAL DIRECTOR(S) - Bob Bell
MAJOR SPONSORS - Renault, ING, Total, Elf, Mutua Madrilena
--- STATS ---
FIRST SEASON - 1977
GRANDS PRIX - 249
WORLD DRIVERS TITLES - 2
WORLD CONSTRUCTORS TITLES - 2
WINS - 35
POLE POSITIONS - 50
POINTS SCORED - 1,056
--- DRIVERS ---
7 - Fernando Alonso (Spain)
10 - Nelson Piquet Jr (Brazil)
TEST DRIVER - Adam Khan (Pakistan)
After a barren 2 year spell by their high standards, Renault are looking to get back to championship winning form and their form near the end of last season when Fernando Alonso took wins in Singapore and Japan certainly suggests that they can once again mount a serious challenge for the drivers crown, but if they do, it will be in one of the ugliest cars ever designed for Formula 1 with a vomit coloured livery to match, yuck!!
But ugly cars can be winners like Graham Hill's "stalk wing" championship winning Lotus in 1968 so proves and pre-season testing has shown that Renault can ocne again challenge on a consitent basis, what has really helped them though is dispensation from the FIA last season to develop their underpowered engine in order to be in line with the rest of the field, and it paid off after the team's lead driver, 2 time world champion Fernando Alonso scored more points in the second half of the season than any other driver, this helped Renault achieve 4th in the constructors championship after a poor start with the old engine.
The improved engine doesnt shy away from a radical design with the main feature being the slabby square nose section which is shaped into a Lotus 72 style wedge shape, included though are side splitters to direct the airflow. And it has worked, to a degree. Alonso has set a competitive pace himself with the new car while his teammate Nelson Piquet Jr has struggled with the setup. Lets hope for his sake that his race pace is not linked with it.
Overall i think the best Renault can hope for is to maintain their 4th place finish, Alonso im sure will improve to challenge for a top 4 placing but the onus will be on Piquet to deliver or else he could end up in the F1 scrapheap, its a big year for the young Brazilian.
2009 PREDICTION FOR RENAULT
DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Fernando Alonso - 4th
Nelson Piquet Jr - 16th
CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP
4th
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