The R29 too slow, would hide its true face

The Renault F1 Team does not seem to be satisfied with its performance with the new R29 single-seater. The French team unveiled its new car more than two weeks ago and participated in its first private tests of 2009 in Portimao, Portugal. The week of testing was deemed very poor from all perspectives by Pat Symonds, the technical director of the team.

During the four days of testing, neither Piquet nor Alonso were able to put the new Renault in the top 3. On the only ‘dry’ day, Alonso did no better than the last fastest time, which placed him 5th, more than two seconds per lap behind the Williams FW31, the current benchmark.

“I was disappointed,” admitted Symonds to the magazine Autosport on newsstands this week. “It was not a good test. We did not complete the planned schedule and, above all, we were not able to run in dry conditions!”

« We still have a lot of data to analyze, but we don’t seem to have properly accounted for the new aerodynamic constraints. We can do better. »

Despite his disappointment, Pat Symonds knows that the difference, currently between the Renault R29 and the Williams FW31, which seems to serve as a reference point, is not as significant as the lap times suggest.

« I don’t really know the reasons for such poor lap times. We also don’t know the fuel loads the teams were using… but I’m sure there’s not such a big difference, even though for now, Williams seems to be ahead of us.

This statement should be related to the rumors that are intensifying day by day, suggesting that Renault has not yet unveiled the real R29, but a test car, to deceive the competition.

Alonso stated after testing last week: « The season starts very late this year, so we will have to reveal our cards as late as possible… and the car will look completely different. »

For his part, Pat Symonds stated that the team had planned a complete overhaul of the aerodynamics in the coming weeks. The Renault R29 would then be transformed: « We cannot comment on our performance until we have the final aero package. What I know is that Williams seems fast, but we will only be able to judge that during the final weeks of testing before the Australian GP. »

The computer-generated images presenting the R29 to the public particularly demonstrate the design change. Here is the virtual image proposed by the Renault F1 Team on its websites: