Renault F1 R.S. 20 Speculation Thread

[Thunder]

This is the speculation Thread about the 2020 Renault F1 R.S. 20. Rumors, articles, ideas and fantasies about the car can be posted here. Once the car gets officially launched, this thread will be closed and discussion continues in the official Thread.

[Jambier]

Very curious to see if they will keep this extreme rake.

But I assume that 2020 will be (sadly) a very similar car to 2019, I would say a little evolution of it.
They declared that they want it to be more consistent and a better balance between qualy and race

As Renault need to prepare 2021 and the new head for chassis are just arriving there.

[Amz964]

Very curious to see if they will keep this extreme rake.

But I assume that 2020 will be (sadly) a very similar car to 2019, I would say a little evolution of it.
They declared that they want it to be more consistent and a better balance between qualy and race

As Renault need to prepare 2021 and the new head for chassis are just arriving there.

Sadly have to agree with you to be honest the last two cars have been really an evolution of the RS17. They all seem to also have the same flaw in terms of rear instability in prolonged cornering especially when the the front wheels are turned. If they can sort this out for next year they might be ok as the car this year was ok in the low speed corners. However the car was very nervous to drive on the limit in Qualifying which is where the McLaren was better but in the race as they are not driving to the limit it was a lot better.

In terms of the rake I would assume they would go less extreme as the regulation changes this year did not favour a high rake car it might give good peak downforce but maybe has issues with using it constantly throughout a lap which I think the team really suffered from this year.

However the main issue on the technical side is named Nick Chester he just isn't good enough to lead the technical team. The team also in the last 2 years have not developed well at all especially this year apart from the major update in France which didn't work as planned they didn't bring a much else throughout the year this must improve especially for 2021.

[Mclarensenna]

I think they are going to make some very serious changes to the car in 2020.
Ric has a lot of experience driving arguably the best chassis on the grid for 5 years straight.
And the problem was he never drove the car until testing 2019 which was too late to change the concept.

He basically told Renault the car is a complete piece of junk all round from braking, stability, handling, curb riding etc
They did as much as they could to fix some of the issues but they were all band aid solutions.
Similar to what Mclaren faced when they realised they had designed a parachute in 2018. They needed to wait until 2019 to fix all the issues and make a big step forward as no updates worked at all with their b spec car promises all failing.
Renault faced the same issues this year with the big France update failing completely also.

Renault now has a chance to make some serious changes and start the 2020 year very strong with input from Ric who would have told them all the flaws and what he wants changed.

I am very curious to see what revolutionary concept they come up with as they cannot evolve the current high rake design as it was a complete failure.

[f1rules]

Chester leaving renault

[Ground Effect]

Prost earlier in the year:

Prost's point about 2020 being a "very difficult season" for Renault might surprise some as the company try to once again became a top team in F1, but he would explain why.

"I can be honest, we're going to focus on 2021," he revealed. "As a result, next season will be a mediocre to perhaps even bad season for us.
"Because of the new rules coming up for 2021, it makes no sense for us to develop much more for 2020. We are going to make a lot of changes and hope to perform at a high level in 2021."

[godlameroso]

Big change in the bargeboards, what they had this year was crap, and a big reason why their car wasn't as competitive as they hoped.

[DivebombDerek]

This has got to be the year Renault finally step up, otherwise I can see the plug being pulled from this operation swiftly. is ocon an improvement from hulk? not sure.

[Jambier]

Prost earlier in the year:

Prost's point about 2020 being a "very difficult season" for Renault might surprise some as the company try to once again became a top team in F1, but he would explain why.

"I can be honest, we're going to focus on 2021," he revealed. "As a result, next season will be a mediocre to perhaps even bad season for us.
"Because of the new rules coming up for 2021, it makes no sense for us to develop much more for 2020. We are going to make a lot of changes and hope to perform at a high level in 2021."

Yes, I think they will just try to fix the biggest issue of the RS19 but the focus is 2021

[djos]

Focusing your limited resources and budget on the new regs is the smart call for the team.

They’ll need too keep Daniel well inside the tent tho to ensure he doesn’t decide to jump ship. I imagine they do that by giving him access to the simulator in 2021 config through out the year.

[Neno]

I expect more of same old same old.

[godlameroso]

Lol that means they found a second per lap redesigning the bargeboards.

[MtthsMlw]

Launch is on 12.2.20

[Blackout]

Renault's 2019 results are very logical and well deserved. Enstone was extremely conservative and lazy last year during the winter and during the season.
They took the exact same decision/gamble as Mclaren in 2017. They knew in 2018 that their next PU was going to be a big improvement and they kept the same chassis/concept for the chassis.
But why did Renault follow that route? to spare resources for the future? probably. But their 2019 car probably looked way faster in the wind tunnel and the minor updates they brought probably worked well at the factory. So they probably had correlation issues... Hopefully the latter are "sorted" and better understood* now thanks to the factory new updates and reorganization.
*I dont think they'll completely disappear and that the understanding will be 100%. For that you need the resources that the big three teams have...

Some of the most conservative parts in 2019:
-The FW endplates
-the nose
The "cape", it was very basic/simple and barely evolved in 2019.
-the under-nose turning vanes. Enstone do not change them alot between the seasons and they evolve even less during the seasons
-the raised top front wishbones: Renault adopted them in 2019 bet they decided to keep the same steering arms, unlike most of the other teams who move them to put them inline with one of the wishbones.
-no boomerangs on the BBs. The Renault is the only boomerangs less car
-the sidepods: they are fake ans superficial copies of the "Ferrari style" raised sidepods.
etc
Will Ensone be more agressive in 2020 with a different technical director as Chester? Obviously aggressiveness do not equate success. Effectiveness is key...


https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opin ... n-get-song

Hughes, here, overestimates the importance of the french gp updates. The sidepods were not "completely redesigned" and the thinner bodywork he's talking about has not been raced. (and he should take a look on the updates that other teams including Alfa and RP regularly brought...)
He's wrong regarding the gains too. The gains were big in some tracks (like in Silverstone) and very small in others. But yes those updates could not change the characteristics of the car...

[PowerandtheGlory]

Renault's 2019 results are very logical and well deserved. Enstone was extremely conservative and lazy last year during the winter and during the season.
They took the exact same decision/gamble as Mclaren in 2017. They knew in 2018 that their next PU was going to be a big improvement and they kept the same chassis/concept for the chassis.
But why did Renault follow that route? to spare resources for the future? probably. But their 2019 car probably looked way faster in the wind tunnel and the minor updates they brought probably worked well at the factory. So they probably had correlation issues... Hopefully the latter are "sorted" and better understood* now thanks to the factory new updates and reorganization.
*I dont think they'll completely disappear and that the understanding will be 100%. For that you need the resources that the big three teams have...

Some of the most conservative parts in 2019:
-The FW endplates
-the nose
The "cape", it was very basic/simple and barely evolved in 2019.
-the under-nose turning vanes. Enstone do not change them alot between the seasons and they evolve even less during the seasons
-the raised top front wishbones: Renault adopted them in 2019 bet they decided to keep the same steering arms, unlike most of the other teams who move them to put them inline with one of the wishbones.
-no boomerangs on the BBs. The Renault is the only boomerangs less car
-the sidepods: they are fake ans superficial copies of the "Ferrari style" raised sidepods.
etc
Will Ensone be more agressive in 2020 with a different technical director as Chester? Obviously aggressiveness do not equate success. Effectiveness is key...
https://i.imgur.com/5VYqDri.jpg

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opin ... n-get-song

Hughes, here, overestimates the importance of the french gp updates. The sidepods were not "completely redesigned" and the thinner bodywork he's talking about has not been raced. (and he should take a look on the updates that other teams including Alfa and RP regularly brought...)
He's wrong regarding the gains too. The gains were big in some tracks (like in Silverstone) and very small in others. But yes those updates could not change the characteristics of the car...

A good post. Consensus was that the bargeboard area was the big weakness of the design last year, which they failed to get on top of.. Hoping for a better concept this year. Im wary as the team as said so many times that they are looking at 2021.. but i don't think they can afford another lacklustre season, they need to keep the Renault board err on board.. if you know what i mean. They 'might' lose Danny to Ferrari or RB.. 2021 can end up starting really badly unless they try to get a few podiums this year.. Its obvious that the recent personnel changes (inc Pat Fry) wont have an effect on this year's concept - but his recent time with Mclaren is an advantage in a tight midfield. The Money of Stroll will surely pay dividends eventually at RP even though i dont see a win yet. I think the biggest threat this year is from AlphaTauri who will carry on from last year and Gasly will be a surprise package again as he continues his retribution.. McLaren will be solid in the hands of Sainz who was the best driver outside the top 3 teams by a mile. I predict a tough year- unless the car has genuine pace they will be stuck in P8 P9 in Quali - then on a rubbish stratergy beaten by the guys in front and the guys who were P10 P11 and P12 on optimum.. Its a hopeless no man's land that needs sorting. Renault need a strong start to the season - from testing through the first 3 races.. then they can build.. No point hoping on updates arriving mid season to fix the car- we saw from last year -but then Mclaren had stolen a march..