Renault will present its new car for the 2020 F1 season in a special testing livery, the team has confirmed.
The team is holding a season launch event in Paris today, but will not present its new car. The RS20 will make its first public appearance in pre-season testing next week.Team principal Cyril Abiteboul said the coming campaign will be a “pivotal year” for the team which “marks the end of one cycle and the preparatory phase of another.
“This year must see us setting the best possible course for the major regulation changes of 2021. The organisational changes made in the second half of 2019 are with this firmly in mind. A great opportunity is on the horizon with the technical and sporting regulation changes and we must anticipate the chance and make sure that we are fully ready to seize it.
“This type of challenge is motivating as it represents the first opportunity since our return in 2016 to build a fully-integrated car from a blank page.”
Abiteboul said the team has three priorities for the new season: “reliability from the get-go; ensure a high level of development very early in the season and have a good conversion rate on track.
“However, we also need to regain confidence and reinforce team spirit to get the best from everyone, and to maximise our chances each race weekend during this unprecedented long and challenging season.”
Renault RS20 launch livery teaser pictures
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MCBosch (@mcbosch)
12th February 2020, 15:10
Without trying to sound to negative the rendered images and the lack of an actual car at the presentation site, makes me wonder if Renault actually is on time with the production of the car and want to safe face. 1st testday is only a week away, so we’ll find out soon enough.
RB13
12th February 2020, 15:21
They admitted the car doesn’t exist yet because it’s yet to be fully assembled. The video is a render and Scarbs says there’s almost nothing new on it from 2018, some boomerang elements on the bargeboards and that’s it. Even the driver’s helmet renders are 2018 spec.
I have a feeling they’ve gone all in on 2021 and written this year off quite frankly. Poor DR.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
12th February 2020, 15:36
Or they do another 2009 and end up crushing the competition.
Ha ha, wait, who am I kidding? This is Cyril’s team, not Ross’s.
RB13
12th February 2020, 16:01
*othing new on it from 2019
But the helmet is 2018 spec lol.
RB13
12th February 2020, 16:01
*NOTHING
ffs.
Tim
12th February 2020, 17:01
To me it looks like it has new narrow-type nosecone, like Mercedes and Red Bull.
bosyber (@bosyber)
13th February 2020, 6:42
Yep, it clearly does, so probably a cape like device too.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
14th February 2020, 17:59
I do hope we aren’t going to be seeing another 2019 Williams debacle, where the car was “a day late and a dollar short”. I just don’t see the point in handing out renditions of the car to the media. Doing that is like saying they’re well behind the time line. Much better to show a car that looks completed.
Qeki (@qeki)
12th February 2020, 15:34
That black livery with a hinch of yellow is quite nice actually
Qeki (@qeki)
12th February 2020, 15:35
..pinch
Gavin Campbell
12th February 2020, 16:55
Renault have started so early on 2021 they’ve forgone bothering to paint the 2020 challenger!
I get why Red Bull does special testing liveries, they have had a very consistent look since their entry to the sport and they have a lot of graphic designers in the company at large so it works for them. But just doing a plain black no livery makes very little sense to me.
Also in general the trend for Renault to add more and more black just makes no sense – you have a colour scheme that lets you stand out, why are you trying to blend into the track? (NB see Indycar for how to make cars “pop” and stand out)
Phylyp (@phylyp)
12th February 2020, 17:17
It’s apparently a livery for pre-season testing. The actual car arriving at Melbourne will likely not forgo yellow, not with it being part of Renault’s corporate colour palette (not to mention the race-wear and merchandise that have been teased).
Robert S
12th February 2020, 18:54
There is a general trend to use more and more black or dark colors, it’s been going on for at least 10 years if not more. All teams on the grid have moved towards black on the lower half of their cars at least. And that line of separation is ever so slightly moving higher and higher on the chassis every year. Since they are mainly made from carbon fiber, which provides a close to black base layer, a dark paint scheme requires less paint to be applied for a good result. Less paint in fewer coatings saves time at the factory and weight for performance. It seams silly but just think about the weight of a paint bucket large enough to cover an entire car; that’s several kilograms so if you can cut it half it is a noticeable gain in F1 terms.
I would love to see them stop that and just make good-looking, distinctly differing liveries instead. But I see the logic behind it.
pastaman (@)
12th February 2020, 20:17
So, matte black then
Jon Bee
12th February 2020, 20:46
Is this the first ever “Emperor’s Clothes” car launch?
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
13th February 2020, 3:15
The stuff that Cyril has been saying about optimised schedules sounds a bit ridiculous…. just like his general performance as team principal.
Cyril may be a good corporate/commercial guy who can manage upwards, but he should leave the running of the team to someone else, like Alan Permane. Permane is an ideal candidate to be team principal.