F1: Renault Launches ‘New’ RS 16 Challenger in France
By Mark Gero
The F1 boys over at Renault got the launch season underway by unveiling their 2016 F1 Challenger.
While many other F1 teams will launch their 2016 formula one challenger in two weeks’ time in Barcelona, Spain, the new Renault Sport Formula One Team began the yearly F1 launch season by unveiling the covers for their new car, the RS 16, Wednesday afternoon at the company’s Guyencourt headquarters just outside of Paris, France.
The livery, is quite different from its former one, which last was seen in 2010, but in more black this time, overlooking the yellow colors. Despite this change, Renault President Jerome Stoll told the media in attendance, that the car will keep the same livery in the opening tests in Barcelona, but will change it when the first race of the season opens in Melbourne, Australia on March 20th.
The team came about after purchasing the former Lotus team one month after the end of last season, which saw the former team face fines for not paying certain pit lane fees at races. In a couple of circumstances, only a few individuals paid to keep the team around for racing events, but now that the French team has purchased Lotus, the problems have been solved. For Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn, the move to achieve this goal is to expand his company, which includes Nissan and Infiniti, one of the team’s sponsors.
“We are not here to participate we are here to compete at the highest level and eventually win,” he told ESPN F1 journalist Laurence Edmondson. “I would like us to know that after each race stops Renault was a contender. That is not going to happen in 2016 unless we have a miracle, it is going to take more time, but we are counting on our team to use everything in our hands to have a very competitive package as soon as possible.”
Former ART Grand Prix manager Frederic Vasseur, is now in charge of the racing team, and his theory goes in agreement with his CEO, who believes that the team probably will see improvements to challenge for podiums and more in three years’ time, but he would not mind earlier than that.
“You listen to the chief, I have to follow his road map,” he said to Edmondson. “We have to be ready to be on the podium in the third season and be able to fight for the championship in that season. “We know that it will be difficult to deliver good results this season but we have to keep everybody under pressure. You have to be pushing to win because we can’t decide in 2017 or 2018 that now we have to push, you have to keep everybody under pressure — the guys who do the pit stops, the mechanics in terms or reliability, the engine, the chassis — you have to push like hell, no matter the level of performance.
“In terms of strategy it is a bit different because we have to decide at one stage if we are pushing a bit more in 2017 and 2018 because of changes in the regulations next year. But the spirit of the team has to be the same.”
Cyril Abiteboul, who had to deal with the engine side last season, is now the managing director, while the expected former ex-Mercedes and Manor employee Bob Bell, is now confirmed as Technical Director.
As for the driver’s side, the whole team has a completely new look, with the only rookie in formula one this season, Jolyon Palmer of Great Britain. Kevin Magnussen of Denmark, is in the second seat, which is his second full season of racing. He replaces Pastor Maldonado at the last minute, when the former’s sponsor, PSDVA oil company, could not pay the bill because of dropping crude prices. The team did not forget it’s French roots either, and picked F3 champion Estaban Ocon of France as its third and reserve driver.
It has been a while for the French manufacture to get it right, and they have fallen many times. However, the company is willing to take a risk in the sport that can build them back to not only a successful formula one team, but a popular production car investment as well.