BlogF1

As the snowball grows in size and pace, Renault add themselves to the four other teams that have stated they will not enter the 2010 Formula One World Championship if the current proposed rules that will result in a two-tier formula are not revised. Joining Toyota, Ferrari, Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso, Renault say that the governance of the sport needs to be better balanced between all involved parties. Continue Reading

Ever one to speak his mind and certainly not afraid to rock the establishment every now and then, Renault boss Flavio Briatore has voiced his disproval of the FIA International Court of Appeal’s decision that deems the ‘double-diffuser’ legal. While preparing for the Chinese Grand Prix on Thursday, Briatore hit out at Ross Brawn and his drivers, making crude comparisons and generally creating a fuss where others have simply accepted and moved on. Failing to get his way and having been criticised in the media, Briatore has proposed that Brawn’s entitlement to monetary benefits should instead be shared among the other competitors. Continue Reading

Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems seem to be getting a bad reputation in China as more teams join Ferrari in removing the device from their cars. Gestione Sportiva said prior to the Chinese Grand Prix weekend that they were taking the part off the troubled F60 for reliability reasons, the KERS having caused both Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa problems. And now, only three drivers will have the new technology for the rest of the weekend as more more it from their 2009 challengers. Continue Reading

It has been reported that Fernando Alonso is carrying an ear infection this weekend, which explains his unusual practice performance this morning. In the first session, Alonso only managed twelve laps and a sixteenth fastest time, and in the second the Spaniard completed just twenty (in comparison to others who managed 35-40) and set the fifteenth fastest time. In both practice runs, team mate Nelson Piquet Jr. finished ahead. Continue Reading

Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems have been causing the teams some grief this winter, with the technology proving difficult to get right. Throughout the off-season, the squads have been testing their devices and all have suffered problems with it. Ferrari notably suffered problems with cooling and on more than one occasion their car had be brought back to garage for investigation. However, the Scuderia along with Renault are now expected to run KERS at the first race of the season next weekend. Continue Reading

The second of the final test of the pre-season wrapped up earlier, and this time Fernando Alonso managed to set the fastest lap in the Renault R29. Alonso posted a time in the 78 second frame and was 0.055s faster than the chasing Rubens Barrichello. Alonso lost a lot of time during yesterday’s session after an accident meant he had to wait in the garage for most of the afternoon. Today though, the Spaniard was enjoying a more productive time, completing 103 laps to become the second busiest driver of the day. Continue Reading

On the final day of the penultimate group test before the Australian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso has placed his Renault at the top of the timing sheets after completing 129 laps of the Jerez circuit. Alonso was the only driver to post a sub-80s lap time and led Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari and Nick Heidfeld’s BMW. It wasn’t a perfect test day for the teams though, as high winds hampered efforts to refine set ups and make comparisons between runs. Continue Reading

The eightieth photograph to feature in BlogF1’s caption contest. You know the drill, think of something funny and witty to say and leave it as a comment below. Here’s a shot of Nelson Piquet Jr. looking under the rear of his new Renault R29 after stopping during a test session earlier in the year. Can someone please point out to Nelson that… actually, don’t bother. Just let him keep on looking… Continue Reading

Earlier in the year it was announced that in-season testing is now prohibited. The call for this measure to be taken was down to Max Mosley wanting to cut costs, and the teams agreed that this would be one way to effectively do that. However, without the possibility of testing new parts during the course of the championship, will we see the same level of performance at the end of the season as we see at the start? Will the testing ban affect the racing? Continue Reading

Given the popularity of the Toyota Livery Development post from Thursday last week, and also given that Sidepodcast have made a request, here’s a quick run down of Renault’s liveries over the years. Of course, the French marque have set themselves a standard just as Toyota have, although Renault are clearly not afraid to experiment with their choice of colours, which can be clearly seen with the 2009 livery unveiled earlier today. Let’s just say, the days of the blue and yellow were much kinder to my eyes… Continue Reading