Renault in trouble with the new car?

Yeah I read an interview with Pat Symonds and he certainly wasn't happy with the way things are going. He said he felt the car could go quicker than what Fernando was lapping, but aside from that, it sounds like they screwed up.

 

I thought this might be the case, I remember after looking at the laptimes from the only dry day and Renault/Alonso were way off the pace. Then I remembered that Alonso said he does every testing lap at 95% of qualifying pace. Not to say his times should be close to qualifying times, but he treats them aggressively.

 

i read a few days ago that they developed some sorta liquid spray, that will aid the aero of the car.

 

I bet Alonso rues the day he did not stick around McLaren and keep his mouth shut or else having found a way into the Ferrari seat. I still believe that after this season Renault is done.

 

When I saw the title of this thread a little bit of me was expecting it to be the fashion police that they were in trouble with. That care is UGLY

 

I still take testing with a (see picture below), who knows what Renault have in store.
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Its called "Sticken", football players spray it on there hands to catch the ball easier, Renault sprays them on their tires.

 

+1

The Renault and Citroen/Peugeout group had just reached for Government money...

this morning french media was underlining that president himself was leading the action, and they´ve been on those talks since last december, not to mention they have been trying to pull the plug on the F1 program since 2005 ...thing is Flavio talked them into keeping the program after the tire Rule change to see if he could clinch the constructors at last...

...he did just that so the programme stayed...

But nowdays, big Names are looking for ways to cut down non vital "fund leaks"...

...and we all know how RACING falls into the EXPENSES list instead of the INVESTMENT or PROFIT list...

a 16 car grid anyone?...no wonder Flavio agreed on the cosworth engine

this is BAAAAAAAAAAD news...very

 

+1

I am sure Alonso will end up somewhere, but it sure won't be at McLaren. At Ferrari, both Kimi and Massa are on contract through the end of the 2010 season. So Alonso could very well find himself in a difficult position one year from now. It would be just like when he left McLaren... he would be angling for a 1-year drive but it's doubtful that many of the teams would want to hire him knowing he's planning to bail after 1 year. And if Kimi does very well this year or next, who'se to say he's definitely going to retire? He certainly has his pick of time at Ferrari... he could do another 1 or 2 year deal, sticking it to Alonso even more.

Since Alonso is persona-non-grata at McLaren, and if Renault bails out, where would he go? Certainly not an A-list team. So he'd be a mid-packer. And if a couple of new stars start to shine this year - like Vettel or Kubica or Senna, then it won't take much for those guys to become the hot commodity instead of Alonso.

I still think Alonso will forever be a 2x WDC winner...

 

Man, what with KERS, Honda, crate engines, Toyota???, crate engines, and now this -

This is getting more depressing than year before last and the cheater gate.

I hate to say it, but should F1 take a timeout until the economic issues blow over?

 

And don't ignore the real possibility of Alonso joining a midpack team and being slower than his team mate...

 

Preach on brutha Mike!

 

Now that would bring all kinds of excitement back to F1

 

Yeah, I want to see Vettel in a Ferrari more than I do Alonso.

 

+100!

 

I still would prefer Alonso at Ferrari.

 

IMO, the main problem with FA would be his unpredictability. If everything isn't laid out perfectly for him or his massive ego isn't getting stroked daily or his teammate is even just the slightest bit faster or has scored anywhere near the same amount of points as him...then all bets are off and it's anybody's guess, including the team he's with, on what he's gonna do. FA's a great driver no doubt but he's waaaay to unpredictable...or should I say, predictable. I would rather see Vettel than FA at Ferrari. Vettel appears to be much more manageable and level headed of a driver with truck loads of talent.

my .02

 

Clint, I agree that Vettel is very talented, I just think that Alonso would fit in fine and perhaps he learned his lesson at McLaren, he in my mind was the best driver of 2008 in that Renault.

 

Well, FA was more subdued last season that's for sure. However, IMO the jury's still out.

Ya, I do agree with you Tony that FA's performance with that Renault last year was very impressive. He seemed to be able to wring that Renaults neck every lap of every race.

 

I'd say the only thing he learned was to make sure he has a crap teammate. I think Fred rejoind Renault on the provision that he'd get Schumi status, and the pick of his teammate, and that's the only reason why Piquet is being retained. You think if Fisichella was still in Fernando's seat, Flav would put up with Piquet? I highly doubt it, even though he his friends with sr. Renault's results would be dismal with that pairing, the only reason why Piquet is being put up with, is because the team revolves around Fred.

 

If Vettel were to come to Ferrari, I'd think we'd see Schumy spending a couple more hours around Maranello.
I really do not see Alonso staying at Renault much longer, he wants to win and Renault doesn't give him all he needs. I see him taking a Ferrari spot or even hopping over to BMW.

 

A lot of that could be Renault propaganda...I think FA has a good chance of winning the WDC in 2009...