The RS26 was the jewel in the Renault's crown. The basis for its design included all the things that were good about its V10 predecessor, the RS25, meaning the team weren't really starting from scratch, even if they were losing two cylinders. The concept was a reliable, fuel efficient engine, that...
Not surprisingly, the last race of the season sees relatively few changes. This one was introduced at the last round and remains for Brazil. The knife-edge profile on the front wing's endplate has been widened, in turn reducing the overall section of the wing elements. This is to reduce airflow...
On the surface the R26's geometry looks little different to that of its Ferrari rival, at least in terms of its centre of roll position, due to similar positioning of the suspension's pick-up points. What differs is the respective lengths of the upper and lower wishbones and the average camber angle...
You might expect Suzuka to be a tricky circuit for Renault, after the banning of their mass damper device. Its very fast direction changes require a perfectly balanced car, and quickly expose handling deficiencies. The good news for Renault is that, as in Shanghai, the R26's aerodynamic balance is...
If Ferrari do have a minor power advantage over Renault, it shouldn't be too much of an issue for the champions at Suzuka, where torque and flexibility are more important than output. The power range of Renault's RS26 V8 should be increased to provide a smoother throttle response. This will not only...
Following the banning of its mass damper, the R26 seemed to lose its edge slightly. In Monza it seemed back in good shape, though the Italian track isn't the most demanding in terms of lateral load transfer and rapid direction changes. Nevertheless, the car looks well balanced aerodynamically, which...
After the outlawing of their mass dampers prior to Istanbul, Renault have introduced several aero changes in Turkey to better balance the car. These additional 'ears', positioned immediately ahead of the cockpit, are similar to those mounted further down the nose at front-suspension level. Their...
Part of a comprehensive new aero package, Renault adopted this revised front wing in Germany, with the additional upper profiles now longer and more curved, and attached directly to the nose cone, in a similar fashion to the Ferrari. This increases downforce, and losing the small vertical pillar...
Not new, but the subject of much controversy in Germany, the damper takes the form of a free-moving mass inside a vertical spring. Its function is to reduce the sensitivity of the car's front end to differing load variations between high- and low-speed sections of the track, and to counteract the...
One of the changes Renault have brought to the North American races is this rear wing, with a revised wing profile, flap and endplates. The profile is now flat, rather than bending downwards at its extremities. This helps reduce drag, with minimal downforce loss. The endplates lose their wide slit,...
Renault continue to develop the dominant R26, with 16 small changes for Canada according to the team's engineers. Some are clearly visible - like these nose winglets - while others are more subtle (but no less effective), internal revisions. The nose winglets have been doubled up to increase their...
Another change for Canada is these bigger shields in front of the sidepods. The change may not be a particularly original one - Honda are among the other teams to carry similar revisions in Montreal - but it is certainly an important one. They improve airflow management over the sculpted sidepods -...
Last year the 'secret' in Renault's nose was a metal plate which acted as ballast at its tip. This year, the team have developed the concept further with a sort a vertical damper whose function is to reduce the sensitivity of the car's front end to load variations between high low-speed sections of...
A slight change to the winglets on top of the sidepods for the high-downforce Monaco circuit. Their profile has a larger surface area – to generate more downforce – combined with a bigger endplate. Two horizontal slits in the endplate help to limit the increased turbulence caused by the element's...
Slight changes for Spain, with better airflow management helping to cut drag on this circuit's very long straights. This is achieved by effectively reducing the sectional area of the flap and main profile (while retaining their original general design) through the main profile bending dramatically...
This change for Europe appears to follow a trend started by McLaren at the last round at Imola. The rear of the endplate is now completely vertical and flat, losing the round and protruding outer profile seen on the previous version. This revision improves the alignment of the endplate with the...
Renault, like most teams, have improved the cooling capabilities of their car for Malaysia, to help guarantee engine reliability in the hot and humid conditions. A couple of additional venting gills have been placed at the top of the sidepod (small arrow and magnified area), requiring no change to...
It is interesting to note that sometimes teams adopt solutions no longer used by the team that originally introduced them. Red Bull's current V keel is one example. The wide nose on the Renault is another. A very similar one was used by McLaren last year, but abandoned in favour of a much narrower...
With the reduced cooling needs of the new V8, the R26 has narrower sidepods than its predecessor. It features wider flip-ups and gone are the R25's distinctive venting gills. The winglet (magnified) now has its supporting pillar (1) connected to its inner edge rather than centrally mounted as last...
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