RENAULT driver line-up 2009

[vyselegend]

It's official:

Alonso & Piquet for 2009!

source renault website: http://my.ing-renaultf1.com/en/

It also states that Alonso has signed for two more years, 2009 & 2010.

[cba_]

No new driver in Renault then

[Conceptual]

I will go on record as the first to predict Alonso 2009 WDC.

If Renault equalize their engine performance, and carry the improvements from this season into next, they will be very tough to beat!

[BJH_F1]

Big surprise there...Nando and Renault kept us waiting for nothing I bet Alonso will be happy with the fact that he has Piquet as his teammate, as there will be no question as to who the number one driver is and where most of Renault's efforts will go toward. I agree with Conceptual and definitely give Alonso a good chance of winning the WDC for 09. With the big changes coming next season the ball is up in the air in the for some of the top teams (especially Ferrari) in terms of how competitive they will be, especially off the bat. This should be a good opportunity for Renault to capitalize and continue their impressive rise back to where they were just a few years a go. Alonso IMO is by far the most complete driver in F1. He has great speed, brilliant technical knowledge, a huge heart and passion for F1, and is extremely controlled and methodical on the race track. All I know is that I can't wait for the 2009 season. With all the great drivers we have in F1 at the moment and drastic changes for next year, this could make for one of the most exciting and anticipated seasons in the history of F1.

[ISLAMATRON]

Renault is behind in KERS.... what needs to be answered is if that is an advantage or not... With Toyota starting without KERS can Renault join them? and gain an advantage from it?

Bordais or Rubans would be a much better #2 if they had WCC aspirations but Alonso isnt up to the challenge.

For some reason I get the feeling Alonso will never will another WDC, we'll see.

[Conceptual]

Teams that start the season without KERS will get owned when the lights go out.

I am sure that the push-to-pass button will be mashed at the start, and any non-KERS car is going to be 80hp down on the rest going into the first corner.

How the HELL is Renault behind in KERS? Isn't it Renault engineers that broke away to start a flywheel KERS company? I find it absolutely incredible that there is no synergy between these two entities.

[WhiteBlue]

McMerc, BMW, Honda and Williams develop their own KERS. Toyota will start without KERS for at least 6 races. Ferrari, Renault, Toro Rosso and Red Bull will be on a common Magneti Marelli system. FI will depend of the deal with Ferrari or McMerc.

I do not think that Ferrari and Renault will be competitive as both agree that their KERS is way behind. Magneti Marelli was having issues with the electric motor/generator unit.

So we should not expect Alonso to be fighting for the top next year. It could be Hamilton, Kubica, Heidfeld and Massa again. Unless they blow the aero again (as they usually do) Williams could be fighting with Renault and Honda for best of the rest. If I had to bet right now I would see a fight between a BMW driver and Hamilton.

[andartop]

Huge disappointment.. nothing personal against Piquet, but I don't think he proved he deserves this seat with his performance, maybe he would benefit by another year as a test driver, or loan on a smaller team. Glad about Alonso though, it looks like he belongs to Renault, and hopefully he will have a good car to challenge for victories and why not for another title. It would be great to see Kubica going for it as well, and maybe Vettel?!!! I can't think of anything better for next year than a 6-way championship battle (Kimi, Massa, Lewis, Alonso, Kubica and Vettel!) As for people "getting a feeling without a reason" that Alonso is finished, well, who could say anything against such strong argumentation...?

[ISLAMATRON]

My reason is that Michilen is no longer in F1 and to me that is the only reason Alonso won his 2 titles. The Michilins were cleary better than the Bridgestones... to me Alonso was not the WDC he was the world Michilin drivers championship. Tires are by far the biggest performance difference in racing and Michilen had a much better product on the track.

2007, he proved he couldnt beat a rookie Hamilton in the same car, and HAmilton has only gotten better. Renault will never have a hug advantage as they did with the Michilen tires so I dont see Alonso winning anymore titles for the forseeable future. Furthermore I see Ferrari being more interested in Vettle than Alonso, So Alonso is effectively stuck at Renault.

[andartop]

My reason is that Michilen is no longer in F1 and to me that is the only reason Alonso won his 2 titles. The Michilins were cleary better than the Bridgestones... to me Alonso was not the WDC he was the world Michilin drivers championship. Tires are by far the biggest performance difference in racing and Michilen had a much better product on the track.

2007, he proved he couldnt beat a rookie Hamilton in the same car, and HAmilton has only gotten better. Renault will never have a hug advantage as they did with the Michilen tires so I dont see Alonso winning anymore titles for the forseeable future. Furthermore I see Ferrari being more interested in Vettle than Alonso, So Alonso is effectively stuck at Renault.

a)It sure can't be the ONLY reason now, can it? You mean that if I was driving that Renault with the Michelins I could have won Schumi?
b)Clearly, the Bridgestones were better in some tracks/conditions and the Michelins in others.
c)Some would say it's equal parts tires, aerodynamics, engine, driver and luck.
d)Comparing performances between team mates is a good measure, but not always an absolute measure. Don't forget Alonso had humiliated Fisichella in Renault, up to which point Fisichella had humiliated anyone unlucky enough to have been his team mate(ie half the grid), but now Fisico seems to be struggling even compared with Sutil. Also, this year Kimi was largely outperformed by Massa, but Kimi is the one who has won a WDC, not Massa. A lot of variables can play a role, far too many for making such conclusions safe.
d)To sum up, never say never!

[shir0]

Only Sith deal in absolutes!

errr... am I making any sense here?

[Conceptual]

My reason is that Michilen is no longer in F1 and to me that is the only reason Alonso won his 2 titles. The Michilins were cleary better than the Bridgestones... to me Alonso was not the WDC he was the world Michilin drivers championship. Tires are by far the biggest performance difference in racing and Michilen had a much better product on the track.

2007, he proved he couldnt beat a rookie Hamilton in the same car, and HAmilton has only gotten better. Renault will never have a hug advantage as they did with the Michilen tires so I dont see Alonso winning anymore titles for the forseeable future. Furthermore I see Ferrari being more interested in Vettle than Alonso, So Alonso is effectively stuck at Renault.

a)It sure can't be the ONLY reason now, can it? You mean that if I was driving that Renault with the Michelins I could have won Schumi?
b)Clearly, the Bridgestones were better in some tracks/conditions and the Michelins in others.
c)Some would say it's equal parts tires, aerodynamics, engine, driver and luck.
d)Comparing performances between team mates is a good measure, but not always an absolute measure. Don't forget Alonso had humiliated Fisichella in Renault, up to which point Fisichella had humiliated anyone unlucky enough to have been his team mate(ie half the grid), but now Fisico seems to be struggling even compared with Sutil. Also, this year Kimi was largely outperformed by Massa, but Kimi is the one who has won a WDC, not Massa. A lot of variables can play a role, far too many for making such conclusions safe.
d)To sum up, never say never!

Dont mind him. He talks alot, but rarely has any evidence to back up his statement. And please dont present hard evidence against what he says, because he will refuse to acknowledge it, and then say you are personally attacking him when you point out his bigotry.

ON TOPIC:

What is the name of that flywheel-KERS company that is run by ex-Renault staff? I have seen the website posted on this board, but I never bookmarked it. I just find it incredible that Renault wouldn't be synergized with them. Especially if they are behind, since they could pick up the flywheel for the first part of the season until theirs is done...

[Giblet]

http://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4361&p=53891&hilit=renault+kers+company#p53891

that one?

[ISLAMATRON]

My reason is that Michilen is no longer in F1 and to me that is the only reason Alonso won his 2 titles. The Michilins were cleary better than the Bridgestones... to me Alonso was not the WDC he was the world Michilin drivers championship. Tires are by far the biggest performance difference in racing and Michilen had a much better product on the track.

2007, he proved he couldnt beat a rookie Hamilton in the same car, and HAmilton has only gotten better. Renault will never have a hug advantage as they did with the Michilen tires so I dont see Alonso winning anymore titles for the forseeable future. Furthermore I see Ferrari being more interested in Vettle than Alonso, So Alonso is effectively stuck at Renault.

a)It sure can't be the ONLY reason now, can it? You mean that if I was driving that Renault with the Michelins I could have won Schumi?
b)Clearly, the Bridgestones were better in some tracks/conditions and the Michelins in others.
c)Some would say it's equal parts tires, aerodynamics, engine, driver and luck.
d)Comparing performances between team mates is a good measure, but not always an absolute measure. Don't forget Alonso had humiliated Fisichella in Renault, up to which point Fisichella had humiliated anyone unlucky enough to have been his team mate(ie half the grid), but now Fisico seems to be struggling even compared with Sutil. Also, this year Kimi was largely outperformed by Massa, but Kimi is the one who has won a WDC, not Massa. A lot of variables can play a role, far too many for making such conclusions safe.
d)To sum up, never say never!

In 2005 Bridgestone won a total of 1 GP's... you might remember it... USGP... 6 cars finished. 2005 was the no tire change year and Michilin clearly dominated. The Renault was more reliable than KIMI's McLaren so he took the Michelin driver's Title. In 2006 they changed the rules and Michilin won 7 of the first 9 races and then Bridgestone finally found some speed and in turn won 7 of the last 9 GP's. No you couldnt have beat Fisi in the renault but It was clear that the car was built to suit Alonso more, Remeber Alonso had been ther 3 years already and was already well integrated into the team.

Go to racing underground and download the 2005-2006 seasons if you dont remember how much Michilin dominated the racing back then. Thats partly the reason why we only have 1 tire supplier these days. Tires back then far outweighed aero, engiine or driver... example... the Renault team stayed with the V-keel while most other teams migrated to the zero keel concept. Why? becuz it allowed them to maximize usage of the tires... even if it had an aero drawback... and thats mainly why they have struggled the last couple years... they took longer than most of the top teams to get to grips with the aero flow of a zero keel chassis.

[ISLAMATRON]

http://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4361&p=53891&hilit=renault+kers+company#p53891

that one?

Wow it seems conceptual is an imbecile no matter what thread you read" I wanted to check that post about KERS and there he is ranting & raving again, calling people names... incredible.