Not the biggest surprise. They pretty much didn't develop at all for 2016 and pulled a Brawn when they bolted in another motor the night before the first test. So the 2016 contender was an abortion from the day it first saw light.
That's dumb. Their 2015 car with a great engine, was ****. Their current car, based on last years car but modified for Renault engine, is even worse. What makes them think an evolution of either is going to be good...
So I guess we can write off Renault for another season then ... no need for top drivers. The Renault flag will be carried by Red Bull but called TAG-Heuer !! What a farce... Abiteboul (Renault F1 CEO) announced recently that he had obtained the funds to invest in personnel and equipment to restructure the Enstone team, almost run to the ground under Genii. You would have thought they would start with a clean sheet of paper ... instead of which we will have a re-hashed 2015 Lotus painted in yellow.
I was thinking the same thing. An analysis of some type was done and something in that design might be of use as a baseline.
Breaking news: a team that almost couldn´t pay the salaries of their employees is not winning a few months later... Not a big surprise, isn´t it? It´s a triumph that they´re still alive. Back in 2001 Renault was nowhere and 4 years later they were winning world championships. Who knows, anything can happen, but they´ll need some time.
Yup. Very rarely you see a team coming to the top rapidly. Brawn did it with a clever invention and a long built solid foundation. On that note, over the recent 10 - 15 years Enstone has shown some tremendous drive for innovation. What's left of that, I don't know. What I also don't know is how serious Renault's business model is shaped around their own success as winning WDCs WCCs... I wouldn't know why else have their own squad, though.
