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Having won two pairs of world championships in consecutive years, Renault are clearly confident in the pace of their car, as their new offering appears little changed from last year. But when the car was launched in Amsterdam last week, the full picture was not quite revealed.
The machine on display at the launch was only half the car, according to head of aerodynamics Dino Toso, who admitted that there are still "a few add-ons to go on the car" on top of the new nose, wings and floor due for the pre-season test in Barcelona. Some parts that have changed, such as the engine and monocoque, are clearly evolutions of the team's previous ideas, while the main alterations are to the sidepods and the gearbox.
While evolution is key, the team's technical director (chassis) Bob Bell says the car is "completely new" under the skin. "The important thing to remember is there 6000 or 7000 components in the car," he added. "Every one of these we have looked at and said 'can we make it lighter, can we package it more tightly, can we make it stiffer?'"
