Back in the sport as a works squad, the team now need to justify the French firm's investment
Saturday 12 March 2016 17:14, UK
Back in the sport as a works team for the first time since selling a majority stake in the Enstone squad to Genii Capital at the end of 2009, Renault have to deliver on track to justify the huge investment the French manufacturer have made.
With the Renault name on the chassis and the engine there can be no hiding place, and while the team are already downplaying expectations, they certainly don't want to be embarrassed on their return.
"We need to be humble in our expectations for next year," explained Renault Sport boss Cyril Abiteboul.
It is at least a team the firm know well. Not only did Renault previously own the team between 2000 and 2009 but they were also engine suppliers between 1995 and 2014 for the team during its various guises as Benetton, Renault and Lotus. That familiarity should accelerate the process of transition in 2016.
"This integration is not just measured in track performance, it's measured by how you optimise the resources available. It's not an exercise in winning at all costs ; it's an exercise in winning in a controlled manner," said chief technical officer Bob Bell.
Renault felt they didn't get enough recognition for their contribution to Red Bull's dominance of F1 at the turn of the decade. Having had their reputation dragged through the mud over the past two seasons in a public war of words with Red Bull over power unit performance, they could have been forgiven for walking away from the sport.
However, the board should be commended for wanting to prove they can compete at the highest level.
Asked what the goals were for the season ahead Bell said: "Merging the two operations towards becoming one entity, more than they have ever been before."
There will undoubtedly be troubles in this year, though, given the lateness of the deal. Lotus ran Mercedes engines in 2015 and were contracted to the German marque for 2016. The car design is likely to be compromised by the late switch of engine to accommodate the Renault unit.
But that will be the least of the team's worries if the power unit continues to lag a long way behind Ferrari and Mercedes.
The team at the engine base in Viry-Chatillon must make giant strides for Renault's investment to make sense. Quite what impact Mario Illien has - and the deal for Red Bull to run TAG-Heuer branded Renault unit have - remains to be seen.
"The power unit guys have done a fairly decent job over the winter," Red Bull boss Christian Horner told Sky Sports during testing. "I think what we are hopeful of is further down the line into the season when hopefully that power unit develops what it is saying it should do. Then we should be able to start competing with some of the teams ahead of us."
In an ideal world for Red Bull they wouldn't have had Renault engines in 2016 due to the unit's performance and that can only be regarded as an embarrassment for a firm which pushed hard for the new regulations. Big steps are needed this year or there is the very real possibility of the works team receiving a sole supply by default rather than choice.
Renault's own form in testing was mixed. While the opening two days of testing were blighted by unreliability, the team finished the eight days of running with over 2200 miles completed. But the RS16 was a regular cause of red flags throughout testing.
The loss of Romain Grosjean is a major blow, and the team will head into 2016 with one of the least experienced line-ups on the grid in Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer.
Palmer at least knows the team after a season as reserve driver, but as a rookie he cannot be expected to lead the team. That responsibility is likely to fall on the shoulders of Magnussen who has just one season of F1 under his belt and spent 2016 on the sidelines after being dropped by McLaren.
And it's McLaren who Renault could be battling in 2016 based on pre-season testing. The French firm seem to be quicker than Haas, Sauber and Manor at the rear of the field, but adrift of the Williams, Red Bull, Force India, Toro Rosso fight behind Ferrari and Mercedes.
That could leave the team fighting for minor points places on occasion this year with McLaren - hardly ideal for one of only three works teams on the grid.
This very much will be transitional year for Renault and expect focus to quickly shift towards their 2017 car as the French firm look to rebuild the Enstone team and return to the glory years of 2005 and 2006.
Even if the results are not seen on track, the ground work laid this season could dictate how successful Renault's return to F1 is.
The first race of the 2016 F1 season, the Australian GP, is exclusively live on Sky Sports F1. The race in Melbourne starts at 5am on Sunday March 20.
