The 2019 Renault F1 Car
At this point, it’s difficult to curb our enthusiasm as the 2019 Renault F1 Car (RS19) is revealed. Fans and racing pundits, hold on to your hats as Renault is more than ready to contend with the 2019 season.
New kid on the block for Renault, Daniel Ricciardo, and Nico Hulkenberg who remains at the French manufacturer for a third season, will pilot the F1 car. While 2018 could have been a better year but Renault finished in a respectable fourth place. It’s actually a spot that has become known as ‘best of the rest’, considering the performance gap between the front three and the midfield.
This year the Renault F1 Car aims to significantly reduce the deficit between them, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. The Renault team hopes that the R.S.19 is the car to do that. Renault made a massive statement during last year’s driver market when they secured the singing of Ricciardo from Red Bull.
The talented Australian has won seven F1 races since 2014 and is considered one of the best on the grid. Some say the signing of Ricciardo is almost like the Fernando Alonso glory years. Alongside Hulkenberg, they complete one of the most exciting and formidable driver line-ups going into the 2019 F1 season.
Targets For The 2019 Renault F1 Car
Renault has made it abundantly clear that they are facing a long-term project to get back to the front of the grid. They have set targeted wins for 2020 and 2021 which means a clear step forward in 2019 will be essential for the French manufacturer.
The most obvious changes to the 2019 Renault F1 car are clearly shown in the images from last year’s mandated changes. In 2019, there are new technical regulations, including a wider, simplified front wing, smaller barge boards and a higher, wider rear wing. At Renault’s launch event at their Enstone base, they displayed a car with the 2019 livery and new front wing.
Not the drivers nor the team expect miracles this season but a first podium finish since 2015 is the primary target. They are quietly confident and will hope to get into top gear aiming to become a championship contender by 2021. The last time the team won a race was six years ago when they were still under the Lotus name.
2019 Season Expectations
Renault boss, Cyril Abiteboul, believes that their commitment to returning to the front of the grid is evident in the changes made to every level of their operation.
Abiteboul says, “When you walk around Enstone you feel the passion and dedication to racing. The first phase of the plan was regeneration — you will see pretty much every single area of the factory has been improved if not completely transformed, from wind tunnel instrumentation, manufacturing, milling machines, clean room, race bays, every single area improved in order to compete on the same level as the best.”
Engine chief, Remi Taffin, is also confident that Renault can start reducing the gap in performance this year. He stated, “These regulations are extremely complex. We know them and understand them and had time to put in place a structure. We have the structure and we have the people now. Eventually, we can see the result of it.”
He continued saying, “We have worked hard on the ERS [energy recovery system] and worked a lot on the ICE [internal combustion engine]. In 2018 we have been introducing some new concepts that proved to be successful and we have taken some of them further down the road and into 2019. The result is the best winter we have ever had.”
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