What’s Wrong With Renault?

A question that will be asked throughout the 2007 Formula One season, me thinks. But how did Renault go from two consecutive titles to chasing the scraps in only a handful of months? Is it the car, the drivers or something else? Skipping around the F1 blogs this beautiful British morning, it seems a fair few people have an opinion the matter, but one article stood out among the others.

Regular BlogF1 commenter Alianora La Canta has written up an excellent entry on the matter, titled Renault and long-term driver strategy, and I would have to say that I pretty much agree with everything written, and the article is well thought out.

It seems Renault had a master plan to continue their success beyond 2006, but it has all fallen apart, albeit temporarily, maybe. Alianora looks at the plan to maintain consistency with Giancarlo Fisichella while simultaneously grooming Heikki Kovalainen and Nelson Piquet Jr for 2008. The entry also takes into account the changes in tyres, other driver options available to Renault for next year and Flavio Briatore’s ego. I hadn’t put much thought into Renault’s drivers for next year as, like so many others, I’m wondering if the Anglo-French squad can sort their car out. But Mark Webber could be in with a chance again, as the Australian is managed by Briatore. However, the things is, would Webber actually want to move? If Red Bull show signs of improvement before the year is out, he may be better off sticking at it with the ‘Bulls. It would be a tricky position for both parties.

Alianora’s post is a great read and I recommend it to others. It certainly got me thinking about the silly season, already! You can see the article by following this link: Renault and long-term driver strategy at La Canta Magnifico Blog.

Formula One, F1, Renault, Giancarlo Fisichella, Heikki Kovalainen, Nelson Piquet Jr, Flavio Briatore