carisi2k wrote: ↑23 Feb 2020, 01:00
Renault did say they were looking towards 2021. The new nose and sidepods don't look to have been too bad as the car seems to be much better according to Daniel.
Yes. My point was that Renault kept the "same" chassis as 2019* because they're focusing on 2021 and can't/don't want to spend too much money for 2020 redesigning everything. And that tub was designed for a large nose - hence the big step on the 2020 bullkhead area.
So this car is an evolution of last years car (which sadly was a very conservative evolution of the 2018 one - but wasnt completely useless, it was fast in many occasions but was too inconsistent and sensitive)
*according to Prost, the
chassis is the same
The 2019 monocoque was already very very close to the 2018 one but the 2020 front wishbones have very different mounting points on the tub, so I think Renault kept the same tub molds as 2019 and just drilled different holes
Prost said "chassis" not "tub" so maybe Renault has kept the gearbox casing too and only modified the internals. Ocon and another team member (I forgot who) praised the "new" gearbox and there are rumors that Renault has greatly optimized the gear ratio this year to extract a good amount of extra power and torque...
Renault R.S.20 corrects several weaknesses according to Alain Prost
Alain Prost believes that the Renault R.S.20 is more stable at the start of the curve, which was a weakness in 2019. He sees a new era for Renault. The first tests of the Renault R.S.20 have been encouraging. Esteban Ocon has never felt so much grip in a single-seater and Daniel Ricciardo has felt progress since 2019. Alain Prost believes that Renault has corrected its weaknesses.
"Yesterday, they were both satisfied with the progress we made on the chassis, with better stability, especially at the entry, which was one of the faults of the car," explained the quadruple world champion and team advisor on INFOSPORT +. “Afterwards, development will start from Melbourne, so it's a pretty good start. "
“It's a good step forward. " Renault believes that it has completed the reconstruction of Enstone, its chassis factory, with many recruits and modernized tools. The team also changed its technical department. Pat Fry became technical director and Dirk de Beer took the position of aerodynamics manager. Alain Prost believes that this work is starting to bear fruit, which will be useful in view of the 2021 regulation.
"Over the past two or three years, an incredible number of people have arrived at Enstone, the chassis department," said Prost. “They have to integrate. We have also had changes in technical management since the end of the year. We are entering a new era, a new phase. "
“The front part has changed a lot. We kept the same chassis as last year, which allows us to (...) put a lot of resources on next year. The aero part has changed a lot, it is already satisfactory, and the mechanical part, which cannot be seen, which seems to be working well. "
Alain Prost wants to wait to see the behavior of the car with more grip and in different conditions, but he is optimistic: “We are rather satisfied. As soon as we are in a positive spiral, it is a little different."