Why Renault is either coy or undercooked

Since taking over the team from the previous owner, Renault has been spending its time and money restructuring its chassis base in Enstone. But you can only use that excuse for so long, and 2018 is the year that it needs to start producing results.

With Red Bull and McLaren now also using its power unit, there are very few places for Renault to hide. That is the same for Red Bull and McLaren, so it will be good to see this three-team battle. I don't expect Renault to do the same as Mercedes does when you compare it to its customer teams, but respectability will be nipping at Red Bull and McLaren's heels.

With Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr on board, Renault has the drivers to achieve success, but they need the chassis and power unit to achieve that success. Renault has struggled since the new engine regulations were introduced in 2014 and going to a maximum of three units per season is not going to make the job any easier.

Its new car doesn't jump out at me as being a big change in philosophy from last year. Actually, the only 2018 cars that do that so far are the Williams and Sauber as both of them have changed their approach dramatically.

The detail of what I can see so far looks very similar to what Renault had at the end of 2017. Optimising what was probably the fourth-fastest car of '17 is one thing, but taking a big step forward to fight the leading teams is another.

The front wing has probably the least number of elements that we have seen from the cars launched so far. But that's not a bad thing as long as the sensitivity and the airflow separation characteristics are under control. Also, as it's a bolt-on item I'm pretty sure there will be developments in place in this area before pre-season testing finishes.

The front wing mounts are fairly long, with a slot gap where they join the nose. They then twist outwards to pull more airflow through the centre section of the front wing and under the nose is the now common S-duct with its exit just in front of the 't' of Renault. Again, this duct is to help pull more airflow through the centre section of the front wing, as maximising the mass airflow presented to the leading edge of the bargeboards allows them to work more efficiently.

Renault has also mounted two turning vanes underneath where the driver's feet would normally sit. This is a sort of extension of the front wing mounting vanes and helps pull the airflow back out from underneath the front of the chassis.

Renault might just be being a smart arse - this could just be a bit of a show car to display its paint scheme and it will dramatically change before pre-season testing begins

The front suspension is fairly conventional with upper and lower A-frame wishbones and pushrod operated inboard suspension system.

The bargeboard area is very similar to last year. It's always difficult to see the finer detail of these components and, in reality, that detail is what makes or breaks the performance. But the Renault bargeboards have the trailing edge steps that generate the vortices going around the sidepods and helping seal the floor.

The radiator inlet is letterbox shaped to allow an increased undercut in the lower section of the sidepod with the lower side impact structure housed in the underfloor leading edge. The outer vertical tyre wake controlling vanes are again very similar to last year and sweep rearwards at the top. These components pick up the turbulent wake from the front tyre and try to realign it to reduce its negative effect on the sidepod undercut and floor sealing.

The sidepods themselves are a combination of the upper surface sweeping down and the side surfaces sweeping inwards, creating the coke bottle shape inside the rear tyres. Getting as much mass flow through this Coke bottle area is very important to the overall performance of the diffuser and rear wing. But you need to be careful that when the car is mid-corner and is subject to yaw conditions the Coke bottle doesn't stall.

Surprisingly, Renault doesn't have any louvres on the floor surface in front of the rear tyre. These louvres are there to help control the tyre squirt where the tyre displaces the airflow as it rotates onto the ground.

By allowing the displaced airflow from tyre rotation to influence the direction of the airflow on the upper surface of the floor, they also help seal the underfloor and diffuser in this area. So, this is pretty important to the overall performance of the underfloor.

Looking at the diffuser from the rear, there are no turning vanes in the diffuser area. The diffuser itself is just a maximum-exit-area box. I would expect that this will all change and that Renault either hasn't got the final spec of underfloor, which will include the louvres I spoke about above, or that it is just being a smart arse. This could just be a bit of a show car to display its paint scheme and it will dramatically change before pre-season testing begins.

Before giving a rounded opinion on what Renault has produced I would need to see the finished product. If this is it, for any reason, then there is room for improvement.