5495 replies to this topic

[thuGG]

This thread should be about the car only. It's performance, deveopements, images, testing, etc.
Please stay on topic, no team ownership, nationality talk!

31 January - the car presentation date.

[korzeniow]

This thread should be about the car only. It's performance, deveopements, images, testing, etc.
Please stay on topic, no team ownership, nationality talk!

31 January - the car presentation date.

Possible shape of the chassis: http://twitpic.com/3aocp9

[The Ragged Edge]

Any rumours regarding what the R31 will have? IE; pull rod suspension, high nose like Red Bull/ Ferrari, flexible(low hanging front wings), type of KERS, will they run a V-nose chassis this year?

[korzeniow]

Any rumours regarding what the R31 will have? IE; pull rod suspension, high nose like Red Bull/ Ferrari, flexible(low hanging front wings), type of KERS, will they run a V-nose chassis this year?

No, nothing. Mr Paddock Pass is doing lousy job lately

[TURU]

Any rumours regarding what the R31 will have? IE; pull rod suspension, high nose like Red Bull/ Ferrari, flexible(low hanging front wings), type of KERS, will they run a V-nose chassis this year?

It will have Magnetti Marelli KERS and V-shaped nose with rounded underside. No word about rear end. It's rumoured to be equiped with some innovative and aggresive solutions.

Scarbs' post.

[MadYarpen]

Great idea,

What interests me most is how will they deal with their drivers height and weight.

[thuGG]

I think there is nothing they can do about it except from buildig the lightest chasis possible. I think the drivers also will loose some weight.

Edited by thuGG, 14 January 2011 - 12:09.

[Carlo's]

I'm curious what they have decided about pull-rod suspension - it require new gearbox housing and new mounting points. However, as scarbs mentioned, R30 rear end was quite slim and only big DDD channels compromised a bit their design so that beam wing wasn't fully exploited.

Recently there was information about interesting innovation in R31 - information is from greek journalist Dimitris Papadopoulos. I don't know how reliable he is, but certainly it would be great news for us - it will be necessary to have innovative things if they want to be in front of some strong outfits. They have had a time, resources, money and staff so many things are up there but it's still a big challenge. Fingers crossed for very fast and reliable first specification of R31 and for great Bahrain package.

[MadYarpen]

Recently there was information about interesting innovation in R31 - information is from greek journalist Dimitris Papadopoulos. I don't know how reliable he is, but certainly it would be great news for us - it will be necessary to have innovative things if they want to be in front of some strong outfits. They have had a time, resources, money and staff so many things are up there but it's still a big challenge. Fingers crossed for very fast and reliable first specification of R31 and for great Bahrain package.

But what is this innovation? Surely he didn't mean the paintjob:)

[Lord_Shaitan]

Ok, it'll be boring but... thanks for creating this thread . Proper topic mainly about the car not a bunch of bs was just what we were looking for!

Can't wait to see new car cuz for sure it will be so much different, and what I hope, much more competitive than our last machine R30 .

Edit:

But what is this innovation? Surely he didn't mean the paintjob:)

What we know as of now is that will be sth as cleaver and innovative as F-duct and EBD were, no more details unfortunately...

Edited by Lord_Shaitan, 14 January 2011 - 12:48.

[korzeniow]

I'm curious what they have decided about pull-rod suspension - it require new gearbox housing and new mounting points. However, as scarbs mentioned, R30 rear end was quite slim and only big DDD channels compromised a bit their design so that beam wing wasn't fully exploited.

And it won't be.

After Scarbs:

With the exception of the central 15cm, the beam wing cannot have a slot that widens internals to create a blown slot. Only Williams raced this last year, but the practice has prevented. This reinforces the fundamental rule that the lower wing should only be formed of one element

[CaptainJackSparrow]

Great idea for a thread! The official thread has been hijacked so at least we can discuss the car here.

Can we change the thread title to

Lotus Renault GP R31

Since that's the official title of the car isn't it?

[TURU]

Great idea for a thread! The official thread has been hijacked so at least we can discuss the car here.

Can we change the thread title to

Lotus Renault GP R31

Since that's the official title of the car isn't it?

No, it isn't. The car is called Renault R31.

[Carlo's]

And it won't be.

Yes, it will. Well, at least it should. You didn't understand me properly - better and cleaner airflow around the rear = better exploited beam wing, you can also play with it's shape with no slots, moreover, you can judge also that in that area not much work was done in 2010 ;)

Edited by Carlo's, 14 January 2011 - 13:34.

[Clatter]

Great idea for a thread! The official thread has been hijacked so at least we can discuss the car here.

Can we change the thread title to

Lotus Renault GP R31

Since that's the official title of the car isn't it?

Nope. It's Renault F1 team until the official entry list changes.
http://fia.com/en-GB...2011_entry.aspx

[Carlo's]

No, it isn't. The car is called Renault R31.

That's proper thinking

[korzeniow]

No, it isn't. The car is called Renault R31.

That's most likely, but car's codename wasn't really confirmed

[korzeniow]

Yes, it will. Well, at least it should. You didn't understand me properly - better and cleaner airflow around the rear = better exploited beam wing, you can also play with it's shape with no slots, moreover, you can judge also that in that area not much work was done in 2010 ;)

Now I see your point

[hunnylander]

Lotus Renault GP R31

That's not a proper chassis/car name. Neither the constructor name. What you put together is team commercial name+designation of the chassis.

Will the new McLaren car be called Vodafone McLaren Mercedes-Mercedes MP4-26?

Constructor+engine plus designation optionally.

Renault R31
McLaren-Mercedes MP4-26
Lotus-Renault T128

And so on...

These are the names which refer to the actual race cars.

Edited by hunnylander, 14 January 2011 - 14:01.

[CaptainJackSparrow]

Nope. It's Renault F1 team until the official entry list changes.
http://fia.com/en-GB...2011_entry.aspx

That list is outdated. The team has since been rebadged Lotus Renault GP and it's referred to as the Lotus Renault GP r31 by the eteam (like below):

Hello World, the Lotus Renault GP R31 will be officially unveiled on the 31st January in Valencia! More info to follow...Spread the word ;)

The Renault F1 Team is history, even the company name has changed.

Edited by CaptainJackSparrow, 14 January 2011 - 14:09.

[Clatter]

That list is outdated. The team has since been rebadged Lotus Renault GP and it's referred to as the Lotus Renault GP r31 by team (like below):

Hello World, the Lotus Renault GP R31 will be officially unveiled on the 31st January in Valencia! More info to follow...Spread the word ;)

The Renault F1 Team is history, even the company name has changed.

They may have rebranded but has the new name been accepted in regards to the championship? Just like the BMW name remained with Sauber last year, despite them having no input whatsoever.

[corf]

That list is outdated. The team has since been rebadged Lotus Renault GP and it's referred to as the Lotus Renault GP r31 by team (like below):

Hello World, the Lotus Renault GP R31 will be officially unveiled on the 31st January in Valencia! More info to follow...Spread the word ;)

The Renault F1 Team is history, even the company name has changed.

But the Chassis name hasn't changed, and until it does it will be referred to as a Renault.

[MadYarpen]

Can we discuss the car, not its name???? I got the feeling that this will turn into another thread like LRGP official...

[hunnylander]

Hello World, the Lotus Renault GP R31 will be officially unveiled on the 31st January in Valencia! More info to follow...Spread the word ;)

That's an advertising/marketing name, not the car's name what is set by FIA regulation.
Of course every teams can write such team's commercial name + chassis designation simply to give exposure to their title sponsor and the commercial name of the team.

But such names isn't the legal names of the racing cars. Look into the F1 regulations, cars and constructors are referred to by chassis constructor+engine manufacturer combination names.

These are the constructors and cars for 2011 (they're used even as 'team names' on result lists by FIA and FOM):

RBR-Renault
McLaren-Mercedes
Ferrari
Mercedes
Renault
Williams-Cosworth
Force India-Mercedes
Sauber-Ferrari
STR-Ferrari
Lotus-Renault
HRT-Cosworth
Virgin-Cosworth

[CaptainJackSparrow]

But the Chassis name hasn't changed, and until it does it will be referred to as a Renault.

That's only due to the technicalities of a chasis name change as everyone knows, the official team name is Lotus Renault GP, they have applied for a British License. The company name has changed. Renault has no shares. It's totally disingenous to call them Renault still and refer to the car as a Renault R31.

Besides since when do thread titles have to use outdate FIA entry lists?

Did we all go around calling Sauber "BMW Sauber" last year in threads?

No, it was called the 'Sauber 2010' thread. Everyone was fine with it.

The team call it a Lotus Renault GP R31, everyone knows that it's what it is, so lets respect the wishes of the team and common sense and quit being so pedantic.

[BRK]

Rename the thread to 'R31, formerly Benetton F1' and the arguments will stop.


Renault had an interesting strategy last season,incorporating 'radical new ideas' thought up by university students and the like as part of their development,IIRC: maybe only because they were strapped for cash and talent at the time,in the aftermath of the Singaporegate fallout,I don't know. I wonder if they'll continue with this auxiliary system this year...bit like cheap labour.

[corf]

That's only due to the technicalities of a chasis name change as everyone knows, the official team name is Lotus Renault GP, they have applied for a British License. The company name has changed. Renault has no shares. It's totally disingenous to call them Renault still and refer to the car as a Renault R31.

Besides since when do thread titles have to use outdate FIA entry lists?

Did we all go around calling Sauber "BMW Sauber" last year in threads?

No, it was called the 'Sauber 2010' thread. Everyone was fine with it.

The team call it a Lotus Renault GP R31, everyone knows that it's what it is, so lets respect the wishes of the team and common sense and quit being so pedantic.

McLaren are always calling themselves the Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes team in press conferences etc, I have not doubt that it will be the same with LRGP. However the onscreen graphics and FIA lists will refer to them as Renault, The commentators will refer to them as Renault and the majority of F1 fans will continue to call them renault until the onscreen graphics change to a different name.

[Muppetmad]

Oh God, I created this thread to escape from this bullshit, not to continue it!

I should have called it "2011 F1 car for Kubica and Petrov".

Indeed, I loved the thread we had last year. Now we have petty arguments over whether something is technically the name of a team or not.

Seriously, can't we just leave this to rest and get to talking about the important stuff, like... gee, I don't know... maybe, how fast the car will be? Whether Robert will win a race this season? Whether Vitaly will be closer to Robert this year or not? The stuff that actually has an impact on the team, rather than a name?

[The Ragged Edge]

It will have Magnetti Marelli KERS and V-shaped nose with rounded underside. No word about rear end. It's rumoured to be equiped with some innovative and aggresive solutions.

Scarbs' post.

This year must be the first time in a long time, news regarding new car designs are in short supply. With no double/triple difuser to incorporate, apart from Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Team Lotus, pull rod seems the way to go. I'd be surprised if no other team except the 3 mentioned, go that route. With the new car launches so bunched up and close together, the forums will go mad. Armchair aerodynamicists and engineers, will be able to tell by sight, which car is the fastest. I cant wait.

[TennisUK]

Can we change the thread title to

Lotus Renault GP R31

Since that's the official title of the car isn't it?

Nope.

[Gemini]

This was good idea, but you did it too early :-)

Untill car is presented , well photographed and given at least some dimension specs... what anyone actually has to say?

I will visit here every day hoping for leaks, gossips and guesses of how the car will shape.

But I won't be surprised if most of the talk will be about colours and names. And the end of the day, this is exactly the purspose the Team and his primary sponsor had in mind when doing a 'paint job launch" yesterday...

[hunnylander]

This was good idea, but you did it too early :-)

Untill car is presented , well photographed and given at least some dimension specs... what anyone actually has to say?

I will visit here every day hoping for leaks, gossips and guesses of how the car will shape.

But I won't be surprised if most of the talk will be about colours and names. And the end of the day, this is exactly the purspose the Team and his primary sponsor had in mind when doing a 'paint job launch" yesterday...

The Renault/LRGP threads are bigger than the McLaren one which uses to being the biggest by far on this board, so I think the marketing and PR department is doing a great job at LRGP.

I think a R31 will be aggressive RBR-like looking, even the livery will look on it better than on the R30. I think it's logical to suppose, the livery was designed with the R31 look in mind and computer. It must be a better fit for the new car.

I expect a lot of radical rear-end cars in 2011. That may be a key to exploit the most from the single deck diffusers.

[Buttoneer]

Please do not raise the team name issue in this thread. The discussion is for the car, and should be focussed on the technical development through the year.

If the name issue is raised by a poster, please report the post and let us deal with it. Do not take the thread off topic by complaining when there is a solution open to you.

[Gemini]

The Renault/LRGP threads are bigger than the McLaren one which uses to being the biggest by far on this board, so I think the marketing and PR department is doing a great job at LRGP.

I just received (delayed) copy of paper Autosport, where there's a special 20 page insertion about Lotus new strategy to invade motorsport. Winter season is marketing harvest. The words are kings.

But as always, as it was and is being said for decades in this business: "when the flag drops, all bullshit stops".

[lettuce]

this thread seems more natural for an enstone fan
i went on the factory tour last summer and despite the place being deserted (summer break) i was gobsmacked by their cfd centre

i hope to see lots of cheeky enstone developments that we all love to see. here's hoping we build on the solid ground of last year, the team and kubica deserve it. As for this sponsor talk .. forget it .. the chassis is made in enstone the engine in Viry Chatillon any other talk is just noise in my book.

[TennisUK]

As for this sponsor talk .. forget it .. the chassis is made in enstone the engine in Viry Chatillon any other talk is just noise in my book.

Correct (which may seem a bit odd as I think I may have put some Kubica fans noses out of joint I believe, judging by the nature of some of the more robust reponses). I am a fan of Robert, and I hope he does well. And I always liked Benetton and later Renault.

To clarify my position, it's less one of supporting Tony (though I think what they achieved last year is actually pretty admirable), and more one of disliking the (in my opinion) reckless approach Dany Bahar is taking with Group Lotus (the massive loan, the attempt to extort money from the UK government etc) which seems to me like a pretty big gamble with other people's money and employment. Things I had thought most people had realised isn't a great thing to do, given the last couple of years.

[korzeniow]

The development of R31 started in May last year, they started manufacturing the parts at that time.

They choosen some technical aspects that will move them forward.

Previously I thought that Boullier's comments about winning at Autosport International was just PR, but now he seems very confident that they improved much.

The concept of the livery was choosen from over 100 of visualizations.

Objective is to finish in Top 3.

They hired more engineers.

http://www.lotuscars...otorsportvideos

[MadYarpen]

would be great, but I think winter testing will be nervous for us. And as always everything will be clear only in first qualy:)

[CaptainJackSparrow]

James Allison: "anyone who follows the sport will have seen the words like agressive and brave are being bandied around across several of the teams, I believe we have chosen a direction that is really, on the brave end of brave"

That sounds like an extreme design to me!



Awesome, you don't want to be one of the muppets chasing the innovators during the season, you want to be the innovator, so great to see them pushing that.

They also mentioned in those videos that because the car is black it means they have to apply a lot less coats of paint to the car and that's resulted in significant weight savings, so again

Edited by CaptainJackSparrow, 16 January 2011 - 15:58.

[patgaw]

James Allison: "anyone who follows the sport will have seen the words like agressive and brave are being bandied around across several of the teams, I believe we have chosen a direction that is really, on the brave end of brave"

source plz?

also great idea about new thread, LRGP topic became very poor.

Edited by patgaw, 16 January 2011 - 16:11.

[Lord_Shaitan]

would be great, but I think winter testing will be nervous for us. And as always everything will be clear only in first qualy:)

This time 1st qualy of the year in Bahrain will be very measurable as teams will have testing just before season's start.

I don't expect we will be in top 3 at the very beginning cuz R31 is a big question mark. Completely new aerodynamical geometry means that a lot of data from 2009 and 2010 season are useless. I hope new aerodynamical profile will have a lot more potential and with some innovative solutions we will haunt Merc in battle for 4th place and challange top 3 teams in some races.

Don't expect miracles, I think we'll be in a bit better or a bit worse shape than in 2010 ;) .

There was some talk about technological innovation lately. I think it could apply to suspension or floor solutions... Well, time shall tell...

[MadYarpen]

James Allison: "anyone who follows the sport will have seen the words like agressive and brave are being bandied around across several of the teams, I believe we have chosen a direction that is really, on the brave end of brave"

That sounds like an extreme design to me!



Awesome, you don't want to be one of the muppets chasing the innovators during the season, you want to be the innovator, so great to see them pushing that.

They also mentioned in those videos that because the car is black it means they have to apply a lot less coats of paint to the car and that's resulted in significant weight savings, so again

This is the kind of news I like;) But remember, R29 was also brave
And about the paint, I think if it was really so significant, every team would have black cars...

[CaptainJackSparrow]

source plz?

also great idea about new thread, LRGP topic became very poor.

It's in the AIS interviews on the Lotus site, Korz had the link:

http://www.lotuscars...otorsportvideos

[TURU]

James Allison: "anyone who follows the sport will have seen the words like agressive and brave are being bandied around across several of the teams, I believe we have chosen a direction that is really, on the brave end of brave"

That sounds like an extreme design to me!



Awesome, you don't want to be one of the muppets chasing the innovators during the season, you want to be the innovator, so great to see them pushing that.

They also mentioned in those videos that because the car is black it means they have to apply a lot less coats of paint to the car and that's resulted in significant weight savings, so again

Well, that James Allison quote is indeed interesting, especially since he always comes across as a rather reserved man. I think they really have something extreme, compared to R30.

[alecc]

I remember exactly one year ago the leaks about the R30 how aggresive and a brave solution it should be, and then we had discussions what they are showed R29 or R30? So.... calm down guys

[MadYarpen]

I remember exactly one year ago the leaks about the R30 how aggresive and a brave solution it should be, and then we had discussions what they are showed R29 or R30? So.... calm down guys

I also remember Bob Bell saying that maybe they won't have to play catch up again - and in a way he was right I think. Damn, this waiting is hard.

[TURU]

I remember exactly one year ago the leaks about the R30 how aggresive and a brave solution it should be, and then we had discussions what they are showed R29 or R30? So.... calm down guys

Yes, but this time these aren't leaks, but an official statement made by their technical guru (I think we can call him like that) James Allison. He looked genuinely excited and upbeat while saying that. So I think that even though we can't judge car's potential without seeing it on track and can't say whether it will be fast or not, we can expect something new, radical and innovative this year. Allison is a tech guy after all, not PR man.

At least they are trying to do something which will bring them closer to the front. Being conservative wouldn't help them much.

Edited by TURU, 16 January 2011 - 17:55.

[MadYarpen]

Yes, but this time these aren't leaks, but an official statement made by their technical guru (I think we can call him like that) James Allison. He looked genuinely excited and upbeat while saying that. So I think that even though we can't judge car's potential without seeing it on track it's nose and can't say whether it will be fast or not, we can expect something new, radical and innovative this year. Allison is a tech guy after all, not PR man.

At least they are trying to do something which will bring them closer to the front. Being conservative wouldn't help them much.

[Buttoneer]

This thread is for the car and technical updates. If you wish to discuss how the team is getting on more generally, go here;

http://forums.autosp...howtopic=138856

If this thread continues off topic, it will be closed or merged with that one as it is otherwise a duplicate thread.

[Carlo's]

Apparently, however, Robert will be the first to taste R31.

EDIT:
http://f1zone.pl/new...o_pierwszy.html

It's polish website so I decided to wait a while for english source.

Edited by Carlo's, 18 January 2011 - 13:55.