The Renault R23B powered Fernando Alonso to his maiden win last year, but will the new R24, shown at Barcelona this week, be as good as its well-handling predecessor?
The Renault R23B powered Fernando Alonso to his maiden win last year, but will the new R24, shown at Barcelona this week, be as good as its well-handling predecessor?
Most F1 observers say that the success of the R23, especially the “B” chassis, could partly be attributed to the car’s low centre of gravity – produced by the dimensions of the unique 110-degree V10 engine. But for the 2004 season, Renault will need to make do without highly-rated technical director Mike Gascoyne and a conventional-layout V10 engine.
As can be seen from these pictures, the car’s most unusual feature is its rear wing. The lower part of the endplates extend behind the rear line of the aerofoil itself. The team also ran a similar wing in testing at Barcelona late last year.
The lower sidepods feature more of an inward slant than last year’s car, as well as descending much lower towards the rear.
The team tested the R24 for the first time on Tuesday and driver Jarno Trulli said: “Everything worked well straight away, and we spent the day ironing out the little glitches that come with any new car. The car was well-balanced, and responded well to the set-up changes we tried.”
Renault’s executive director of engineering Pat Symonds added: “Our testing programme consisted of systems checks and medium length runs, and all the indications are that the car and engine are behaving as we had predicted. The initial feeling is that we have a very good package.”
