Breaking news
Formula 1
Renault making "strong progress" with 2019 F1 car
Renault's chassis technical director Nick Chester says the French manufacturer is making "strong progress" with its 2019 Formula 1 challenger.
Scott Mitchell
Published: Nov 16, 2018, 2:35 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Next season will be Renault's fourth since returning to the F1 grid as a works team and it has signed Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull as it bids to make the next step in its progress up the order.
Renault is poised to clinch fourth in the constructors' championship in Abu Dhabi next weekend but has made clear it would be "ludicrous" to suggest it can bridge the significant gap to Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull next year.
Chester said: "There's a lot going on with the 2019 car and we're well advanced in making the first chassis.
"We've got the gearbox, which will be tested soon. We're finishing design work for parts such as the cooling, suspension and the bodywork.
"It's flat out at this time of the year as we have to get through a lot of drawings to get the car made. It's been busy and we're making strong progress."
Renault holds a 24-point lead over Haas in the fight for fourth, having overcome a dip in performance in the second half of the year to all but see off the American team's challenge.
Chester is hopeful the team can end the year in emphatic fashion as well as preserving a strong reliability record on the chassis side.
"We want to have a good final race and extend the points gap in fourth to really stamp it home," he said.
"We've also had a very good result this year where we've not stopped the car in a race through a chassis fault.
"We would be the only team to have done that, so bringing both cars home in Abu Dhabi would cap off this season."
After winning F1's best-of-the-rest battle across the North American double-header in the United States and Mexico, Renault failed to score at all in Brazil last week.
F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul wants to see a response to that "disappointing performance".
"We picked ourselves up and dusted ourselves down and we're fully focused on the task that lies ahead," he said.
"This final race of the season is very important for the team.
"There's still a job to do in Abu Dhabi and we expect to finish the season as we started it in Australia; with both cars competitive and inside the top 10."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article F1 ready to drop races with "unattractive" deals
Next article Hamilton says 2018 title will have great 2019 "knock-on effect"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Scott Mitchell
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Formula 1
Formula 1
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Formula 1
Formula 1
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
Formula 1
Formula 1
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
More from
Renault F1 Team
Does Daniel Ricciardo regret leaving Red Bull for Renault?
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
7 h
Does Daniel Ricciardo regret leaving Red Bull for Renault?
On this day: Fernando Alonso wins the world title, Michael Schumacher retires from F1
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brazilian GP
On this day: Fernando Alonso wins the world title, Michael Schumacher retires from F1
You Ask The Questions: Robert Kubica
Formula 1
You Ask The Questions: Robert Kubica
Latest news
George Russell on F1 title loss: 'This year won't break me'
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
58 min
George Russell on F1 title loss: 'This year won't break me'
Fernando Alonso doubles down on poor F1 driving standards: "We all know who we're talking about"
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
1 h
Fernando Alonso doubles down on poor F1 driving standards: "We all know who we're talking about"
How Spanish engineering and Alex Palou brought IndyCar to Barcelona
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
Indy IndyCar 1 h
How Spanish engineering and Alex Palou brought IndyCar to Barcelona
F1 Mexico GP: Friday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
3 h
F1 Mexico GP: Friday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe