I didn’t realise Renault etc made £90mill to be stolen God awful cars, plasticky and underpowered on the whole. Can’t imagine ever even considering renting one, let alone buying one Forza Ferrari..... the only racing team and car marque that matters. Italia forever It’s easier to apologise than it is to ask permission
Good luck to you Nico LOL https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/140549/hulkenberg-may-need-another-gear-vs-ricciardo Nico Hulkenberg thinks he may have to "find another gear" in order to beat Daniel Ricciardo at the Renault Formula 1 team next season. The German ended the season with more 'Class B' victories than any other midfield runner and was the highest-placed driver behind the Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull contenders in the overall standings with 69 points. Hulkenberg said he is excited about the prospect of being joined by former Red Bull driver Ricciardo for 2019 as it will give him a chance to prove himself alongside a race winner, but conceded he may need to lift his game. "Bring it on - we all cook with water, I'm not scared of anyone," said Hulkenberg about facing Ricciardo next year. "Probably it will be very challenging and I might have to find another gear, but let's see what happens."
I think Daniel will be strong. He knows the Renault system in terms of the PU. He has pace and race-craft. If Nico is soundly beaten what is left for him then???
Then that should make for good news for him but for him to gain any traction to a more 'major' team, he needs to beat Daniel.
http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/25450875/renault-puts-figure-power-deficit-ferrari-mercedes Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul says there is no reason why his team should still be lagging behind Mercedes and Ferrari in terms of engine power next year. Renault has struggled to match the power output of its rivals since the start of turbo-hybrid era in 2014 and customer team Red Bull, which will switch to Honda power next year, often criticised the French manufacturer for its lack of power. Abiteboul believes the gap in performance between Renault's power unit and the class-leading Ferrari and Mercedes engines was over 50bhp in qualifying this year and roughly 25bhp in the race. But the Renault boss says there is no reason why Renault shouldn't close the gap over the winter break and hopes his team will start the 2019 season on an equal footing with the most powerful engines on the grid. "We're missing about 15 to 20 kilowatts of engine power [20-27bhp] in the race, which under certain conditions could be made up for by the Red Bull chassis. But in qualifying we estimate our deficit at 40 kilowatts [53bhp], and that's significant," Abiteboul told Auto Motor und Sport.
I really like The Hulk but next season will be his greatest test. I would like to see what he could do in a top tier team--I don't think that will describe Renault next season.
I think Abiteboul puts too much emphasis on power. Red Bull won several times with the same engine this year. The problem at Renault is clearly the chassis, and that maybe a big disappointment for Ricciardo used to the best handling car in the field.
I don't think Abiteboul is not aware of that, he mentions that it will take longer to catch up on the chassis side.
It's not all about hp or kw. It's about chassis, aero, and suspension development given the track. Renault lacks in this dept. I've seen more updates from the top 3 than from anyone else. What RedBull lacks in hp and/or kw, they make up for up it in aero, chassis, and suspension. That Honda PU IF 20hp shy of the front two for 2019 will be very competitive on RedBull.
That's the unknown for 2019. During 2018, Honda, at times, were swapping out PU's when it did'nt to. That Spec 3 will be the starting point into Melbourne.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/140784/renault-orry-but-not-sorry-to-lose-red-bull Renault says it is "sorry, but not sorry" to have ended its relationship with Red Bull after some rollercoaster years with the energy drinks backed team. Although the Red Bull-Renault partnership produced four consecutive Formula 1 title doubles between 2010 and 2013, more recently there was high tension amid criticisms from the Milton Keynes-based team about engine performance and reliability. Red Bull has elected to switch to Honda engines for 2019, leaving Renault supplying just itself and McLaren next year, but the French manufacturer is far from unhappy. Renault F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul says the public criticisms from Red Bull are something that will not be missed. "One of the reasons why we are sorry but not sorry to stop the relationship with Red Bull is simply because Red Bull was controlling our communication and we had to react," Abiteboul told Autosport. "It was not on a level of playing field, because Red Bull is so much more powerful than us from a communication standpoint. "We were constantly on the back foot and, on many occasions, it was a communication that was suiting their purpose. "And we are in a world where unfortunately the noise and communication is becoming a reality. "Let's be clear: our engine situation is still not where it needs to be but it is not as bad as maybe it looks from afar, and I can tell you it will be much better next year."
The Renault-Red Bull partnership became awkward when the results stopped coming. Renault should have severed the links years ago, IMO, rather than having to endure the constant criticism. I think the relation with McLaren will be better.
The biggest problem I have with the whole Red Bull (Toro Rosso)/Renault situation is that, having become disgruntled with Renault, and having been publicly berating and embarrassing them, Red Bull announced they were going to ditch Renault power-units (for both of their teams) with immediate effect, and use a different power-unit supplier, even though there was still a year left to run on the Renault contracts. Renault agreed, and basically said: "It's disappointing, but good luck to you!" Then Red Bull approached Mercedes and Ferrari, both of whom said: "Sorry, but we've no interest in supplying you anything!", and Honda, who said: "We're not in a position to supply you, and our contract with McLaren doesn't allow it anyway!" So suddenly, Red Bull and Toro Rosso had no power-units at all for the following season, and faced having to leave F1. Ferrari took pity on Toro Rosso, and offered to supply year old specification power-units to keep them racing, leaving Red Bull with noting, and desperate. In the end, despite all of the public abuse from Red Bull, Renault came forward and offered to supply them power-units once more, to ensure the team could race, and it's workers weren't all suddenly out of work. Not long after this partnership began again, Red Bull went back to criticising, slating, and publicly humiliating Renault again. Yes the Renault power-unit was disappointing compared to both Mercedes and Ferrari, but if Renault had not been so magnanimous and come forward to help Red Bull, they would have had to have left the sport completely! I take my hat off to Renault, because if I had been in charge of them, I would have told Red Bull to build their own engine if they wanted to continue racing, and not supplied them anything!
