Formula One news

New Renault more revolutionary - technical chief

Renault's hopes for the 2008 reason rest on the all-new Renault F1 R28. The car ran for the first time last week in Valencia, on Monday 21 January. During the four-day test, the car completed over 1500 km, indicating strong early reliability in spite of numerous changes to the 2008 technical regulations, including the introduction of the Standard ECU and long-life gearboxes. The team also made encouraging progress with set-up and performance development, allowing the car's debut to be judged as promising.

The new car represents a shift in design philosophy from its predecessor, in order to extract optimum performance from the Bridgestone tyres that all competitors have used since the start of 2007. The new car features revised weight distribution and a new aerodynamic concept to match, which has been enabled by the introduction of a "zero-keel" front suspension mounting. The monocoque and bodywork to improve the packaging of the car's mechanical systems while under the skin, the SECU and new gearbox represent the biggest changes. As with all new designs, the team has worked hard to improve stiffness and remove weight throughout the car, to provide maximum set-up adjustability from circuit to circuit.

Technical Director Bob Bell labelled the car "much less evolutionary" than its predecessor, continuing: "2007 was a very poor year by our standards. For 2008, there are high expectations inside and outside the team, and it is down to us to give the drivers a competitive car. We have put the problems from 2007 behind us and in terms of the car design, we have looked at the problem afresh. The team pushed very hard in all areas, and particularly on the aerodynamics. The front end of the car has come in for special attention with a brand new front wing and the front suspension. The rear end has also been heavily reworked, and we haven't neglected the basics. The car ran reliably in its first test, and we made encouraging progress on performance development last week. We are confident that the advances we have seen in the wind tunnel will be reflected on track."

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