[Monster Hesh]

Renault release first images of their 2017 car with the integrated halo....wait...what year is it?



Whats there to say...



Nasty garish yellow. I'm not a yellow fan, but last years yellow was a good tone, this I really don't like.

[forzaferrari]

Not one to name cars...but `plain jane` springs to mind

[Jody Barton]

We will see... But that's essentially the shape of car they ended up with last year, with some bodged together Ferrariesque sidepods. To say I'm underwhelmed would be an understatement. They are not yet ready to play with the big boys clearly, don't think either RBR or McLaren should be worried about being outdone by the works team. At this rate (both the Williams and Sauber look like good cars) Renault might be at risk of picking up the wooden spoon if the Honda engine proves to be ok.

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PS, the yellow is God awful, but at least there are sponsors and no white in sight.

[Monster Hesh]

What could be worrying is the fact the is Cyril Abiteboul has been very forward about not having resources and infrastructure setup yet. One could argue that this is very much reflected in this car.

He has also been very forward about "headaches" with engines, which if this release is anything to go by, then the engine is also going to be as lackluster.

Bad times ahead.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Well this has been disappointing reading, I feel like someone just let all the air out of my balloon, haha

having all the technical and aero knowledge of a frog, (pun intended), I'll have to defer to others better judgment, but on the plus side, lets say "steady" improvement?  Hopefully they've kept some things up their sleeves, and hoping for some good in season development

on the livery, erm, . . . .I kinda like it, though I did see it side on first.  I actually prefer this yellow to last years one, not liking the nose, head on looks so much, but I think it's very good side on, I've been complaining about other teams not using livery colours on the Halo, but on this I think it works. I guess avert your eyes on the straights, and just wait for it to go round corners.

Never thought about the Sponsors until Jody brought it up, but could be why it looks good side on

[morini]

Agree with Fog, livery looks ok(ish) in profile. Bloody horrible head on though. Always liked the John Player Special scheme myself.

[Monster Hesh]

In honesty for all we know, Renault have done the right thing. To just tweak a car they knew worked well on high downforce tracks. To just optmise their design for much better aero efficiency. Learn their car, work it and unlock its full potential. No dramatic changes to bring a full load of unknowns.

[morini]

In honesty for all we know, Renault have done the right thing. To just tweak a car they knew worked well on high downforce tracks. To just optmise their design for much better aero efficiency. Learn their car, work it and unlock its full potential. No dramatic changes to bring a full load of unknowns.

Always a risk to change direction massively, no doubt about that. For the big teams too I mean. This is why I'm unsure we will see Mercedes fundamentally change their philosophy this year. I know Jody thinks different (and I can see his reasoning), it will be interesting if he is right and Mercedes go full on Allison in 2018. If any team can develop in season it'll be Mercedes, but it will be really interesting if they do a complete concept swap and start on the back foot as a result of that.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Agree with Fog, livery looks ok(ish) in profile. Bloody horrible head on though. Always liked the John Player Special scheme myself.

Yeah, as I said to Ian on sky, never really liked any of the Renault liveries since they came back, nothing compared to the 2005/06 liveries or as he mentioned, the 1985 Elf one, just hoping as Monster said, this steady Eddie approach pays off

[Jody Barton]

Tried posting this last night but when I did it sent the forum all wonky and wouldn't let me post...

It's perfectly fine to go 'steady Eddie' on your car design in F1, IF you have a good platform / race wining car. It's why everyone is desperate to see what Mercedes and Ferrari do. Probably Mercedes more because essentially their philosophy has led to 5 straight years of WCC & WDC doubles, but it was clear their power unit and Lewis Hamilton's impeccable driving got them through last year... That and Ferrari's implosion...

But, back to Renault. Last year's car was described as difficult to set up, going from understeer to oversteer and back again in the same corner (Hulkenberg's words, not mine) and having very peaky performance. Abitobul also said the front end of the cars aero package wasn't lining up with the rear end of their car and they had to compromise one to get the other working. So no. Sorry, I don't think a 'steady Eddie' approach is the right call for Renault, they needed to go big, or go home.

For that reason I hope the bravery of Williams, Sauber and to a lesser extent Haas pays off. Maybe, just maybe, Renault are viewing this year as a throw away year, get their new personnel in through the front door and give them the money and resources to have a good run at 2019. Don't waste the money they have on trying to work out this year's car, but keep all your powder dry for 2019, and make sure you have a rock solid set of mechanical components to build a chassis around. That's the kindest way of viewing this car. I think it'll be a pup, and if I'm wrong I'll hold my hands up, but Renault now have funding to put them on a par with the big boys, they need to start spending it wisely or Renault will once again pull out of having a works team.