Lotus Renault GP R31 Launch

Peter
Remember that Roman came along mid season, with no testing of that car. The R29 being perhaps the worst car of 2009. The R30 was said to be one of the easiest cars on the 2010 grid to drive.
Click to expand...

That's a fine point to make as long as there's someone who has driven a Renault and every other car on the grid. Not even close.
 
Alex.
That's a fine point to make as long as there's someone who has driven a Renault and every other car on the grid. Not even close.
Click to expand...

I think we can all agree though that Romain clearly has far more potential than that season showed...
 
I gotta say I really liked this livery when they showed it on the R30 but the more I look at it on the new car then more I start to not like it, it just looks very cluttered and messy to me and too dark gloomy.
 
According to James Allen, a couple of teams are already looking at a FEBD (foward exhaust-blown diffuser ... we have to call it something). McLaren are said to have something similar in mind for their launch, though apparently it's not easy to work one into an existing design. Not only do you have to re-route the exhaust and provide adequate insulation against superheated exhaust fumes, but you also have to re-arrange the internal componentry - specifically the electronics - create larger sidepods to aid cooling nd all of it has to stand up to difficult side-impact tests by the FIA. Allen implies that it could very well be an expensive and difficult process (Renault say the car has been in development for a year, so they've had time to perfect it), but there is an obvious benefit because teams are willing to take time out of their development programs to work one into their car.

Ross Brawn, however, reckons you can still be competitive without one. Mind you, he probably said the same thing about the double diffusers in 2009 ...
 
RTSolvalou
This is the only thing I hate about F1, copycatting. For me, F1 is about innovation, not duplication.
Such is life.
Click to expand...

That's pretty much how innovations happen though, one person does something than people follow and try to make their version better.

What I don't understand is why so many teams are supposedly working on doing a similar thing when we haven't really seen in in action for any long period of time. Seems like it could just blow right back into their faces(Pun semi-intended).
 
They evidently feel it's worth investing in there. Even if Renault haven't gotten it right, other teams believe the concept is sound and if it can be made to work, it's worth the time, effort and money it will take to perfect it.
 
I don't think copycatting is worth making a fuss about. Remember 2009 when Brawn got the double-diffusers first. The other teams made rushed versions and brawn were superior. The same thing happened to a lesser degree last year with the F-duct as Mclaren were the fastest in a straight line for the start. Renault are doing the same thing, although I'm thinking it will be more like Brawn then Mclaren as in it will be a massive jump rather than a couple of tenets of a second.
 
Ardius
I think we can all agree though that Romain clearly has far more potential than that season showed...
Click to expand...

Yup, in the GP2 2009 season he pulled out mid season obviously to repalce Piquet, and at the ed of the season, still had more points than Pastor Maldonado, by a lot.
 
Plus the results he managed in GT1, Superleague and GP2 in 2010....I mean, straight after the disaster of 2009, he won the first GT1 World Championship race with little or no prior GT racing experience (as far as I know of). He was a front-runner in almost every car he jumped into in 2010.
 
akmuq
I don't think copycatting is worth making a fuss about. Remember 2009 when Brawn got the double-diffusers first. The other teams made rushed versions and brawn were superior.
Click to expand...

That's not exactly accurate. The other teams didn't develop their own double diffuser when Brawn did and like Brawn did because the other teams knew it wouldn't conform to the spirit of the regulations. Most of the teams were present for the meetings from which they walked away with an understanding of the season's regulations, but Brawn was not one of them. The teams that were present understood the intentions of the regulations, which weren't sufficiently expressed in the wording of the regulations, so Brawn created a diffuser that technically complied with the regulations as worded but not as intended. Brawn had it from the start and planned for it all along while the other teams planned on not having it and didn't have it at the start because they never expected it to be acceptable.
 
I don't really know the advantage of the front flowing exhaust. Is it really worth it to redesign the cars for it?
 
If you can take a car's byproduct and put it to good use then it's a plus, as long as you overcome the weight gain coming from the extended exhaust, it should aid the car's 'center of g-force' and I guess 'sidestep' it's center of gravity.

At least the car weight distribution (over the wheels) regulation should give any team that considers copying the concept a headache, except McLaren who already had a similar concept in their heads before the R31 was unveiled.
 
Exhaust pipes don't way that much. The mandatory weight balance won't affect teams looking to copy it that much. The trick is in rearranging the electronics so that they are nowhere near the exhaust outlets.

And apparently McLaren's concept isn't as similar to Renault's as originally thought. At least, according to ScarbsF1.
 
IceMan PJN
That's not exactly accurate. The other teams didn't develop their own double diffuser when Brawn did and like Brawn did because the other teams knew it wouldn't conform to the spirit of the regulations. Most of the teams were present for the meetings from which they walked away with an understanding of the season's regulations, but Brawn was not one of them. The teams that were present understood the intentions of the regulations, which weren't sufficiently expressed in the wording of the regulations, so Brawn created a diffuser that technically complied with the regulations as worded but not as intended. Brawn had it from the start and planned for it all along while the other teams planned on not having it and didn't have it at the start because they never expected it to be acceptable.
Click to expand...

Story goes that Ross Brawn actually warned them of that loophole at that meeting. The other teams passed it off as rediculous...except Williams and Toyota.
 
Ardius
Story goes that Ross Brawn actually warned them of that loophole at that meeting. The other teams passed it off as rediculous...except Williams and Toyota.
Click to expand...
Sounds a bit like the time Audi asked all the manufacturers in rallying if they'd mind it if Audi entered a car with four-wheel drive. The manufacturers didn't mind, because at the time, the only four-wheel driver car in Audi's lineup was the Iltis, a 75bhp jeep-like thing built for the German Army. Of course, Audi had secretly been developing the Quattro at the time, and amanged to keep it under wraps long enough to get the other teams to agree to four-wheel drive. They then showed up with the Quattro and blew them out of the water.
 
Just realized I had not seen the R31 sidepods yet :crazy:

Found a pic, very nice, not only a unique D shape but top and bottom lips on it aswell 👍
t_sidepod.jpg
 
Rossell2
Anyone else think the fact its black makes it easier to hide ideas?
Click to expand...

This. Not on purpose, of course, but it really makes us miss some features on it, like the exhaust at first ,and the sidepods, which I didn't notice until now.
 
Looking at the size of the sidepod intakes, I am thinking maybe the radiators are not the only destination for the air in there...
 

Similar threads

jonoholland29
Macau GP 2024
Replies
10
Views
2K
Jezza819
Jezza819
GBalao888
Make your bold predictions for Forza Motorsport (8)'s launch content
2
Replies
43
Views
11K
GBalao888
GBalao888
prisonermonkeys
Sauber C30 Launch
2
Replies
43
Views
11K
Ardius
Ardius
prisonermonkeys
Lotus E21 launch
2 3 4
Replies
106
Views
16K
Bram Turismo
Bram Turismo
Keef
2023 Las Vegas GP Announced
2
Replies
36
Views
6K
Eunos_Cosmo
Eunos_Cosmo

Latest Posts

Back