Renault: Car or Driver?

I think it is a little of both. Alonso is great and when he left I think no one really thought Renault would challenge for the W.C. this year. The current car isn't as good as it has been the last couple of years. I say that because Fisi would often qualify high or even win a race once in a while during the previous two years. That proves the car was much better than it is now. I believe if Alonso was still driving for Renault he would have at best, a couple of 3rd place finishes this year but no wins. The car is just too much off the pace right now.

Renault has improved but they were still half a second off the top teams in qualifying during most of the sessions this past weekend. Renault is getting stronger though. In session 2 of qualifying(usually the quickest session of the day) Heikki and Fisi were 5 & 6. Heiki drove a flawless race yesterday and Fisi had a great start but then made a mistake which cost him a chance at the points. Last week if Fisi wouldn't have gotten black flagged, him and Heiki would have both finished in the points. So they are taking baby steps.

 

Renault seems to need a truly stellar driver to win consistantly. This has only happened with MS when they were Benneton and then Alonso. Other than that they are the best of the rest. Either Alonso took the team to a different level or this year's car isn't that good. It's a combo of both but I think the driver has a bit more to do with it than the car.

 

Sorry guys it's the car. While Fisi didn't match Alonso's race pace most of the time he certainly was as quick and did manage to beat him on occasion. Alonso is a better drive but don't think for a minute that if he were in the car they'd be racing for wins.

Renault is making progress and they closed points gap to BMW this race. If Fisi hadn't made that mistake early in the race (dropping him to 19th) he certainly would have finished higher than his team mate.

 

After yesterday, I agree with you its the car, not the drivers.

 

Car

 

I wonder if the driver influence in developing the cars, especially with drivers known for their skills in that area (Schumacher, Alonso) is much bigger than we all thought or think. Schumi left Ferrari - car got worse (but yes, I know about 2005). Alonso left Renault - car got worse - and joined McLaren - car got better. Is it just plain coincidence, with all the driver changes and the new rules, or is there more about it?

 

No more Michelin tires.

 

+1

 

On the surface you'd be right but McLaren develops their cars in a leap frog fashion. They have separate development teams for the current car and for the next. So the car Alonso's in at the moment was in its development stage at this time last season.

At Renault it seems Fisi is the one who shouldered most of the development work of the two. It was also said the main reason Renault kept Fisi on board for this year and next is because of not only his speed but more importantly his ability to do development work.

Sometimes you design a bad car. Honda certainly did it this year, McLaren's done it before as well and it looks like Renaults design this year when matched to the new tires was a bit off. They're moving forward though.

Ferrari, sadly seem to be stagnant. Both BMW and especially Renault are making gains and if Ferrari doesn’t start making them as well they may be in trouble of loosing out podium positions to either of them later this season.

 

x

 

+2
car, then obviously the drivers. When Alanso can mess up in Canada 4 times off track, then about same at Indy, and still maintain 2nd, you have to believe Masa puting all out is faced with a car problem.

one could only hope Ferrari gets it together.

albeit: Lewis has made me a believer anyway, I don't believe he is taking advantage on track antics, but actually is just a ballsie driver with a daring that works: unlike Sato, unlike JPM...more as a Shumi in his mid career

 

I think its more car development than the driver also, accepting that a good technical driver will help with the former. Renault has imploded, just like Ferrari is about to, after having dominated for so long. Alonso coming to McLaren is not the reason why that team is doing well now. There was a time when you couldn't keep track of Kimi's engine/suspension/wing failures. The sport is cyclical, and as much as I detest McLaren, they (or perhaps Mercedes) have finally sorted things out.

 

Last year Alonso was approximately 0.2-0.5 secs/lap faster than Fisi. Kovi is finally sort getting to grips with the car and is posting quick times.

Therefore less than half a second can be instantly improved if a better caliber of driver was driving this year.

The rest of the performance gap is purely down to the car. Pat Symmonds was mentioning that there were losing traction in the rear - looks like their rear suspension and aero design was optimizing the Michelin tires but are no good on Bridgestones.

Renault were 0.7-0.8 secs behind Ferrari/Mclaren in Indy while they were 1.3 secs behind in Malaysia and further behind in Australia.

They are improving slowly.

 

The single tire provider is partially responsible since Michelin cars now have to tune their chassis for Bridgestones. The driver is a factor, I believe as well. Other than that, evolution is norm for F1, so the cars do change. Some years, one constructor gets it better than others. Or maybe they exploit the rule book better.

 

i hate to say it but I think a lot has to do with alonso not being there. as much as i hate the guy he is one of the best driver's in the field besides kimi (who doesn't seem to care that much about winning races as of late).

 

car. could be related to tyres.

 

It's the car. During the pit walkabout sessions the Renault mechanics were too busy taking pictures of all the hot women to work on the cars!

No Joke!