The RS18: it’s a bit like the RS17
RENAULT HAS BECOME THE LATEST team to reveal images of its 2018 challenger ahead of the car breaking cover publicly in pre-season testing at Barcelona next week. Gary Anderson gives his thoughts on the RS18 – and on initial inspection, he suggests that Renault has evolved rather than revolutionised its recent philosophy.
“Since taking over from the previous owners, Renault has been spending its time and money restructuring its chassis base at Enstone, but you can only use that excuse for so long, and 2018 is the year that it needs to start producing results on the track.
“With Red Bull and Mclaren now using its power unit, there are very few places for Renault to hide. In reality, that is the same for Red Bull and Mclaren, so it will be good to see this three-team battle.
“I don’t expect Renault to do the same as Mercedes does when you compare it to its customer teams, but respectability will be nipping at Red Bull and Mclaren’s heels.
“The new car doesn’t jump out at me as being a major change in philosophy from last year. Actually, the only 2018 car that does that so far is the Williams.
“The detail looks very similar to what Renault had at the end of 2017. Optimising what was probably the fourth-fastest car then is one thing, but it will take a lot more than that to move forward into the top three.”