February 04, 2016
F1 Pr0n 2016: (Not The) Renault RS16
Would you believe that it's nearly that time again? Off in the distance, one can hear the engines grumble and the turbos beginning to whine... or is that just people who want the V10s back, it's hard to tell. Formula 1 is just around the corner, and the first of the rollouts didn't occur today. Now, I know you're assuming that I just typo'd up there, but nope, I meant it: the first of the rollouts didn't occur today. What did happen, though, is that Renault debuted... something. Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to not introduce you to something that isn't the RS16!
As you may or may not remember, the team known as Lotus was about to go legality-plank-up last year, but longtime F1 waffler Renault eventually rescued them from the abyss. Renault is one of the truly important names in the sport, either as an engine manufacturer, a team sponsor, a factory works team, or all of the above at once. They've raced as Equipe Renault Elf, Renault F1 Team, Lotus Renault GP, and won two constructor's championships on their own. They've also supplied engines to championship teams from Williams, Red Bull and Benneton along the way, making them one of the most decorated marques around. Now they're back, officially known as Renault Sport Formula 1 Team, with their car for 2016, the RS16.
Which, in fact, you are not seeing here. Oh, to be sure, the team debuted the car you're seeing here today in a grand presentation, but this isn't the RS16. See, Renault got into Lotus quite late last season and it's known that the dying team had no design on the table for this year... why spend the money when you're not even sure you'll be able to finish 2015? So Renault had to come up with a design on its own, something that can't be done in just a couple of months. What we're undoubtedly looking at here is the chassis of last season's E23 with the new front wing the team ran in the post-season test at Abu Dhabi back in November. Though you can't see it in these pictures, people who know these things have said that the exhaust on this car looks exactly like 2015, which would be against the tech regs for this year.
Hell, Jerome Stoll, president of Renault Sport Formula 1 Team, even said that the livery you see here will change by the first race weekend in Australia. So if the car isn't going to be what you see here, and the paintjob is going to be different, why in the world did Renault even have this event today?
To unveil the team. Let's face it, a lot of people were pretty sure that Renault dragged its feet on the Lotus deal because they were lukewarm on the sport. And, considering the grief they took from Red Bull concerning their engine, who can blame them? This event was clearly a "we're back now" thing, and all things considered, a welcome one. F1 is better off with Renault as a manufacturer than without it.
As near as I can tell, this is the first, and last, scheduled rollout of a car until pre-season testing begins in a couple of weeks. We'll keep an eye out, though, just in case.
As you may or may not remember, the team known as Lotus was about to go legality-plank-up last year, but longtime F1 waffler Renault eventually rescued them from the abyss. Renault is one of the truly important names in the sport, either as an engine manufacturer, a team sponsor, a factory works team, or all of the above at once. They've raced as Equipe Renault Elf, Renault F1 Team, Lotus Renault GP, and won two constructor's championships on their own. They've also supplied engines to championship teams from Williams, Red Bull and Benneton along the way, making them one of the most decorated marques around. Now they're back, officially known as Renault Sport Formula 1 Team, with their car for 2016, the RS16.
Which, in fact, you are not seeing here. Oh, to be sure, the team debuted the car you're seeing here today in a grand presentation, but this isn't the RS16. See, Renault got into Lotus quite late last season and it's known that the dying team had no design on the table for this year... why spend the money when you're not even sure you'll be able to finish 2015? So Renault had to come up with a design on its own, something that can't be done in just a couple of months. What we're undoubtedly looking at here is the chassis of last season's E23 with the new front wing the team ran in the post-season test at Abu Dhabi back in November. Though you can't see it in these pictures, people who know these things have said that the exhaust on this car looks exactly like 2015, which would be against the tech regs for this year.
Hell, Jerome Stoll, president of Renault Sport Formula 1 Team, even said that the livery you see here will change by the first race weekend in Australia. So if the car isn't going to be what you see here, and the paintjob is going to be different, why in the world did Renault even have this event today?
To unveil the team. Let's face it, a lot of people were pretty sure that Renault dragged its feet on the Lotus deal because they were lukewarm on the sport. And, considering the grief they took from Red Bull concerning their engine, who can blame them? This event was clearly a "we're back now" thing, and all things considered, a welcome one. F1 is better off with Renault as a manufacturer than without it.
As near as I can tell, this is the first, and last, scheduled rollout of a car until pre-season testing begins in a couple of weeks. We'll keep an eye out, though, just in case.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
09:55 PM
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1
I looked up to see if this meant that Lotus didn't exist anymore, and found out that Lotus was already Renault; they just used the Lotus name. And apparently, the Lotus F1 teams haven't had anything to do with Lotus the car manufacturer for years. I had no idea. I understand that Team Doug (for example) could use Mercedes power units; they don't have to provide Team Doug power units...but finding out that Lotus isn't actually Lotus seems weird.
Posted by: Ben at February 05, 2016 12:08 AM (DRaH+)
2
Yeah, Lotus-the-historic-F1-team-and-car-company basically stopped existing in 1994 or 1995, becoming Lotus-the-historic-car-company.
In 2010, however, we had TWO Lotus F1 teams. The first, Team Lotus, was backed by Malaysia and Malaysian car company Proton, which owns Lotus Cars. The other was Group Lotus, which ran as Lotus Renault GP. Team Lotus technically had the rights to the name; Group Lotus had the backing of the family of Colin Chapman, the founder of the original Lotus.
In 2011, Team Lotus was allowed to use that name, as they were the legal rights holders to it. The other could call themselves Lotus and had the rights to the legendary black-and-gold livery.
Eventually there were lawsuits. Team Lotus turned into Caterham F1, Lotus-Renault became Lotus F1... until the end of last season, when Renault bought them and rebranded them as Renault Sport F1 Team.
In 2010, however, we had TWO Lotus F1 teams. The first, Team Lotus, was backed by Malaysia and Malaysian car company Proton, which owns Lotus Cars. The other was Group Lotus, which ran as Lotus Renault GP. Team Lotus technically had the rights to the name; Group Lotus had the backing of the family of Colin Chapman, the founder of the original Lotus.
In 2011, Team Lotus was allowed to use that name, as they were the legal rights holders to it. The other could call themselves Lotus and had the rights to the legendary black-and-gold livery.
Eventually there were lawsuits. Team Lotus turned into Caterham F1, Lotus-Renault became Lotus F1... until the end of last season, when Renault bought them and rebranded them as Renault Sport F1 Team.
Posted by: Wonderduck at February 05, 2016 08:35 AM (KiM/Y)
3
Am I odd for hoping they don't change the livery too much? I kind of like the yellow spot-color effect.
Posted by: GreyDuck at February 05, 2016 10:28 AM (rKFiU)
4
That's really a nice color scheme. Now if they could get Casio as sponsor they would already have a matching watch: Behold the Casio F-94WA-9!
Posted by: chris at February 05, 2016 01:22 PM (+v19u)
5
I quite like it too, GD, particularly the matte spots on the rear. I assume that's bare carbon fiber over "hot spots", but I can't find any confirmation on that anywhere.
The livery will change as soon as they get a sponsor willing to cough up cash (see "Williams-Martini"), or enough little sponsors. I'd die laughing at the self-important Euroscum that sneer at all the sponsorship stickers on NASCAR racers if Renault goes that way...
The livery will change as soon as they get a sponsor willing to cough up cash (see "Williams-Martini"), or enough little sponsors. I'd die laughing at the self-important Euroscum that sneer at all the sponsorship stickers on NASCAR racers if Renault goes that way...
Posted by: Wonderduck at February 05, 2016 07:44 PM (KiM/Y)
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