Renault shift focus to 2008 preparations

The Enstone-based team have failed to finish on the podium this year and look set to lose out to BMW Sauber in the fight for third place in the constructors' championship, behind Ferrari and McLaren.

And although the team are not completely writing off this year's campaign, technical director Bob Bell has confirmed that work at their factory is now focusing on 2008 rather than driving forward developments for this year.

"We will have some minor aerodynamic upgrades in Turkey, and a new aero package in Monza adapted to the very low drag set-up we require there," said Bell. "We will also be working hard to extract more performance at the track from our most recent developments.

"Back at the factory, though, the moment has come to focus our energies on 2008. We have always said that our problems this year would not compromise next year's programme, and that remains the case."

Bell has hinted that the team are pursuing some new concepts for the 2008 car, having finally got to the bottom of why their R27 fell short of expectations.

"Our design and development resources are already focusing intently on 2008," he said. "We began work on the car early, and our approach has been quite different to recent years.

"First and foremost, we had to be certain that our development tools were working correctly. Once this was confirmed, we began putting a lot of energy into the design of the new car.

"The project is on time, and we have been exploring some very interesting new development paths."