On the face of it, finishing third in the championship last year should be viewed a good result. But the figure belies the season that team boss Flavio Briatore called "a disaster".
Not only was the result was poor for a team that had won the two previous championships, but the car's pace was well behind BMW Sauber, never mind Ferrari or McLaren.
At the launch of the new Renault last week, technical director Bob Bell spoke candidly about the reasons behind the slump, and highlighted the progress made on the new car.