Renault’s aerodynamic evolutions don’t work
Despite major aerodynamic changes to the RS16, Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer were unable to set a better time than 17th this Thursday in Monaco. « The car is worse than before » even dropped the Danish driver.
Renault not only brought a power unit upgrade (for Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull only) to Monaco this weekend: the French team also introduced multiple aerodynamic evolutions (on both of its cars) tested during the recent private tests in Barcelona.
Alas, the times achieved by the two drivers were well below expectations. Has Renault taken a step back in its development? Kevin Magnussen believes so: “This day was not the best for us,” the Danish driver confided. “We thought we had made progress during the Barcelona tests, but we didn’t find the expected car on this track. The latest engine specification certainly brought something, but we still have work to do on the settings. We also need to find more downforce.”
Kevin Magnussen seemed so uncomfortable that he hit the rail at Anthony Noguès during the second practice session, a corner that is not the most difficult of the track. “It’s a shame that the second session was shortened,” he laments. “I simply understeered into the wall. When turning, I had no grip,” he stated about the incident. The only good news of the day is that the incident will have no consequences: “The data showed I wasn’t going any faster than the previous lap, so it’s frustrating. Fortunately, the damage was limited to the front wing, so the work will be quite easy for my team of mechanics.”
On the other side of the garage, Jolyon Palmer also hit the barrier during the morning session. The rookie Englishman’s car wasn’t ready by 2 p.m. for the start of the second session, so he only managed to complete 46 laps on Thursday, which is about half of what the rest of the field did. Nevertheless, he remains optimistic for the rest of the weekend: “We discovered a lot about the direction we want to take with the car, and I think we can make quite significant progress.”
The princely weekend unfortunately does not bode well for Renault. If the introduced developments do not live up to their potential, the rest of the season could be very long for the French manufacturer.
