Destination: Melbourne

The R27s that will defend the ING Renault F1 Team’s colours in Australia left the factory yesterday evening getting the season off to a flying start (literally)! Next week, the 2007 Formula One World Championship will finally kick-off at Melbourne.

Yesterday evening all the equipment that the ING Renault F1 Team will need for the first three races of the 2007 season was sent to the airport. The carefully packed cars and the 30 tonnes of freight necessary for their maintenance were loaded onto a Boeing 747 cargo plane bound for Melbourne. It will land in Australia on Sunday evening. The first contingent of mechanics will leave tomorrow, and the team’s garage will be erected on Monday.

These final preparations mark the end of a cycle that began several months ago. In October 2005, the engineers in Viry and Enstone got down to planning the installation of the engine in the R27’s chassis. And even before the team raced in last season’s opening grand prix, the first designs of the 2007 gearbox were being studied. Two months later, in May, the instantaneous gearchange (IGC) was agreed and its design process launched. On 8th June, the green light was given for the production of the first 2007 box with final assembly programmed for 2nd October. On 20th October, the team carried out the first dyno test of this vital element. A month later it made its track debut on the back of a hybrid R26.

Chassiswise, the main specifications were first issued on 6th May 2006. The surfaces of the monocoque determined according to these specifications were defined on 28th June. Manufacturing started in August and the drivers sat in the first prototype on 14th November. The first monocoque was finished on 27th November followed by the assembly of the R27-01 chassis. Two days later it passed the FIA crash test with flying colours. And on 19th December, the Enstone workshops resounded to the sound of the RS27 being fired up for the first time.

The aerodynamics team led by Dino Toso began its 2007 programme in August 2006. By 10th October, the engineers had a pretty accurate idea of what the final bodywork would look like. At the end of December they had almost completed the aerodynamic package destined for Melbourne.

The RS27 engine was designed in compliance with the specifications published by the FIA on 18th September 2006, which were confirmed a month later. The new V8 derived from the RS26 used in China and Japan had to be optimised for the maximum engine speed of 19,000 rpm. On 1st November the first mock-up of this engine arrived in Enstone, and the final list of changes to be made on the base of the RS26 was sent to the Federation on 15th December. A complete engine was then delivered to the FIA on 1st March of this year.

On 10th January Nelsinho Piquet carried out a brief aerodynamic shakedown on the Silverstone circuit in what was in fact the new car. A week later two chassis were on hand for Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen for the first test session. It was the start of the final development phase as the process of optimising the car’s set-up and reliability could begin at last.