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Renault's chassis boss Nick Chester says that the team can't afford to spend too much time developing its 2019 car and lose focus on this year's challenger. The French team is embroiled in a tight squabble in the midfield pack with Haas, McLaren and Force India.
The Enstone-based outfit currently leads the fight, sitting in fourth place in the constructor's table. It is 25 points clear of Haas in fifth place, but Chester says that the team can't switch development focus to 2019 just yet, as it could damage their results in the second half of the 2018 season.
"We know we can't really [switch]. We have to develop. We have already got things in the pipeline that are going to hit after shutdown. Maybe once we can get to race 15 [Singapore] or 16 [Russia] we can review it but by then most things will be in process anyway to the end of the year."
And Chester says that things are too unpredictable, reflecting on the result in Austria where Renault scored a double-DNF, while Haas came home in fourth and fifth: "It's just too tight. An Austria result and you've wiped that out. We've got to keep going and pushing and getting pace on the car."
Teams will be keen to start developing their 2019 car, as the aerodynamic regulations have been changed. Front wings will have less elements, winglets around the brake ducts will be banned, and the rear wing will be lowered.
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Replies (1)
Login to replyRam Samartha
Posts: 1,172
I'd bet they have more going on with it than he's letting on. I think with them hiring Ricciardo it shows that Renault is very committed to winning in F1. They know they have chassis issues and horsepower issues to overcome but I wouldn't be surprised if we see them running strong out of the gate in 2019. With two top-notch seasoned drivers they might even have a chance at 3rd in the constructors next season.