Why Renault is asking for patience

There was one over-riding message from all involved with Renault as the team went public this week with its return to Formula 1 as a works entrant.

At Renault's impressive and picturesque Technocentre at Guyancourt, situated in a south-western suburb of Paris, drivers Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen took the wraps off the RS16.

It was a launch, but not as we know it because the predominantly black liveried machine was simply a show car designed for maximum impact to signify Renault Sport F1 Team is in business following its protracted takeover of Lotus last year.

The true RS16, as we will come to know it over the course of the forthcoming season, will not make its debut until the first day of testing on February 22 at Barcelona's Catalunya circuit.

For now we wait and wonder what Renault genuinely has to offer, whether it has finally solved the mysteries of the 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged hybrid power unit after two years of strife and being made to feel like a second-class citizen by Red Bull.

Emerging from the shadows of that tarnished relationship, there was appreciable ebullience in the air as Renault CEO and chairman Carlos Ghosn ushered in a new era in F1 for the French manufacturer.

And then came the warning, one that was to be repeated by every member of a star-studded Renault line-up as enthusiasm and expectations were tempered.

Ghosn and other Renault bosses are cautious with expectations © XPB

In essence, it can be summed up like this: give us at least a couple of years to sort things out.

Ghosn made abundantly clear Renault would not be challenging for podiums on a regular basis until 2018 at the earliest, and as for championships, maybe not for five years.

Make no mistake, this is a long-haul project, perhaps surprising when you think in 2013 Renault's now former incarnation in Lotus scored 14 podiums.

That includes a season-opening win in Australia en route to the team finishing fourth in the constructors' championship, repeating its feat of 2012 when it managed nine top-three finishes.

An inquisitor asked managing director Cyril Abiteboul why Renault's ambition was so 'low-key' and earned short shrift as he replied: "Is it really? That's your opinion.

"If you look back it took Red Bull five years, Mercedes five years, so why do you say it's low ambition? It's a very safe ambition.

"We cannot come in and say we are going to score podiums this year, it's absolutely impossible.

"We only completed the acquisition of the team on December 18, so with the timeline, it's not possible to score a podium this year.

"Everything we do this year has to be towards the construction of performance for '17 and '18, and in my opinion a podium in '18 is absolutely possible."

They were remarks later repeated by new racing director Frederic Vasseur, chief technical officer Bob Bell, technical director (engine) Remi Taffin and technical director (chassis) Nick Chester.

Mercedes took years to find success after setting up its works team © LAT

Even Magnussen, whose F1 career has been reignited by Renault after McLaren appeared to toss him on the scrapheap last year, realises he may not be fighting at the front for some time to come.

Patience will undoubtedly be a virtue.

"You can always hope, but it is important to be realistic about where we are," assessed Magnussen, undoubtedly the most popular figure on Renault's first day 'back at school', in front of a media scrum

"It's a completely new set-up. Renault has done this before, the exact same set-up, and I believe they will do it again.

"But you have to be patient as well. Things don't just happen. So we will be realistic, take it race by race and just race as hard as we can."

Renault recognises when it comes to its power unit it lags behind Mercedes and Ferrari, and that its halcyon days from 2010-13, when it swept aside those rivals in the V8 era as it powered Red Bull to double title-winning success, are behind it.

But as Abiteboul conceded, and he appeared genuinely optimistic on this point when he spoke, who is to say Renault's time won't come again.

"In terms of engine development we are behind, but it's not because of this [works team] programme, it's because what we have done ourselves," was the honest appraisal from Abiteboul.

"But there is really very good stuff in the pipeline, and for the first time I am extremely confident we know what we have to do.

"It's about implementing that into the engine in a reliable, well-executed manner.

Renault knows it lags behind Mercedes and Ferrari on the engine front © LAT

"It's not going to be all of it this year, it's going to take a bit of time, but we will do what we have to do."

On the chassis side, it also has to be remembered Lotus switched to Mercedes power for last year following a torrid 2014 with Renault.

Now it's with Renault again, so compromises have to be made when it comes to the bodywork, and from such a late starting position given the delays in getting its majority stake acquisition in Lotus over the line.

It is why we only saw the 'show car' at Guyancourt as the initial chassis is in its final phases of development.

Whatever transpires this season for Renault, 2016 - '17, too, potentially - is to be transitional, a word disliked by Vasseur as he claims it is too often used in French culture.

Beyond that, Ghosn is fully expecting a return on Renault's investment, which is being estimated at around £200million per annum.

Naturally, returning to F1 is a marketing exercise as it places Renault firmly back in the shop window for its car manufacturing exploits, not as the sideshow act it was when Red Bull basked in the glory of those four successive title triumphs.

Unsurprisingly, there is a bottom line, though, as an assertive Ghosn said: "We are not here to participate - we are here to compete at the highest level and eventually win.

"We want to get to the point where every time a race starts, Renault is a contender - that is our objective."

So let's join Renault in tempering expectations and giving it the two years it is demanding to sort itself out and get up to speed.

Come 2018, like Ghosn, we can then start casting a more critical eye on results and performances.

Time starts...now!