Category: Renault

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Formula 1 Lotus Renault

The world of F1 gets weirder with Lotus Renault GP

Lotus Renault GP

Formula One sometimes gains as much publicity for its off-track dramas as it does for its racing action. And here is a perfect example of that. The team formerly known as Renault F1, which was mostly owned by Luxembourg-based company Genii Capital, will now be known as Lotus Renault GP.

Oh, so Lotus Racing and Renault have merged, right? No, you need to go back and read The Lotus position article to get up speed. Basically the Proton controlled Group Lotus has signed on as major sponsor to the Renault team in a deal set to last until 2017. Muddying the waters further Renault has sold its ownership share back to Genii and will be involved solely as an engine supplier.

As you can see the Lotus Renault GP team has already given us an early glimpse of its planned racing livery for 2011, a great tribute to the famous John Player Special sponsored Lotus machines of the 1970s and 80s.

Are you sitting down, though, because things are about to get even more confusing. Despite Group Lotus now having direct involvement in F1 the other team known as Lotus Racing, headed by Tony Fernandes, is still planning to compete in the 2011 season as well. They will also have their engines supplied by Renault. And they have already announced they wish to race with gold and black livery too.

From a distance it all seems a bit tit for tat and all a bit unnecessary. At least Mike Gascoyne now knows why Group Lotus has been reluctant to talk to Lotus Racing.

If you’ve managed to keep up to speed with this article you’ve done well. On the surface it looks like we’ll be having two gold and black Lotus-named teams in Formula One next year. But, between now and the Bahrain Grand Prix in March expect quite a few lawyers to get a massive Christmas bonus.

Official press releases from Lotus Renault GP and Group Lotus are available after the break.

UPDATE: You can now click on the image above to view a 1780px version.

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Ferrari Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Renault

2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in pictures

2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Here is our last image gallery from the 2010 Formula One season. Bringing you these pics has been a fun, albeit labour intensive, addition to the AUSmotive routine and we look forward to bringing you more great pics in 2011.

For now, though, here are 101 photos from the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It is Sebastian Vettel’s time to shine; Mark Webber fans – you may want to look away now.

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Renault

Renault Megane RS 250 – Australian pricing & specs

Renault Megane RS 250

It’s been a while since we first saw the Renault Megane RS 250, but the wait for Australian buyers is finally over. Those wanting entry into to French quarter of the über hot hatch club will need to part with $41,990 for the RS 250 Cup, or cough up an extra $5,000 if they want the Cup Trophée model.

The extra cash for the Cup Trophée gets you 19″ alloys, flash Recaro sports seats and a few other bits and pieces like electric folding wing mirrors, plus they have even thrown in some floor mats. Bless. In addition, the Trophée is differentiated from the regular Cup by way of grey bumper inserts (pictured above), as opposed to black, and satin chrome door handles, as opposed to body colour.

Both models come standard with a 184kW (250bhp) 2.0 litre four cylinder, including twin scroll turbo. Peak torque of 340Nm is available from 3000rpm, while 80% of that figure is on tap from just 1900rpm. Fitted with a 6-speed manual box, Renault say you can reach 100km/h in 6.1 seconds.

Back in the day it was thought 200bhp was the theoretical maximum one could put through a front-driver. There are many examples of cars breaking that theory now, of course, but almost all employ some form of trickery to at least give the driver some chance of avoiding a call to the operator of a flat bed truck. The new RS 250 is no different with a standard limited slip diff and independent steering axis front suspension offering what Renault describe as “a more reassuring drive”.

After seeing the RS 250 in static mode at AIMS last month, we were quite impressed with the interior, which has taken huge steps from previous Megane offerings. So long as none of the driving pleasures of the former models have been lost, this new effort should be a crowd favourite.

More pics and Renault Australia’s very detailed press release are all yours after the break.

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing Renault

Red Bull Racing – 2010 Formula One Constructors’ Champions

2010 Brazilian Grand Prix

To honour Red Bull’s success in the 2010 Constructors’ Championship and the genius of Adrian Newey’s RB6 here is their post-Brazilian Grand Prix press release, accompanied by a short video montage from BBC TV. Of course, there’s more images from Red Bull’s celebrations in the Brazilian Grand Prix in pictures article.

Also joining in the fun is Renault who have just inked a new two-year deal with Red Bull.

[Thanks to Micky for the video tip]

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Ferrari Formula 1 McLaren Red Bull Racing Renault

2010 Brazilian Grand Prix in pictures

2010 Brazilian Grand Prix

The Brazilian Grand Prix has been run and won. Red Bull Racing have taken the last of the lollies from the Constructors’ jar; well done them, it’s a ripping effort. Sebastien Vettel’s win at Interlagos made sure the Drivers’ race will go right down to the wire, with Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso his most likely barriers between world title success.

Truth be told, the biggest excitement in Sao Paulo last weekend involved poor old Jenson Button and some masked men. The race itself largely sorted itself out after the novelty of Nico Hülkenberg’s pole position had passed.

You can relive the event after the jump. Unfortunately the pics from McLaren are not available in 2000px super sizing. The good news is, all the others are, so get clicking.

Now, bring on Abu Dhabi!

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Ferrari Formula 1 Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Renault

2010 Korean Grand Prix in pictures

2010 Korean Grand Prix

“Our Mark” binned it! Can you believe it. It was a race that promised so much; an opportunity for Webber to really intensify the pressure on his rivals. Instead, on a dramatic and soaking wet afternoon in Yeongam, Mark put it into the wall and he walked away empty handed. Pressure does strange things and amplifies the tiniest of indiscretions. It was a mistake that needn’t have happened. Webber cracked on Sunday.

Worse, it looked like his fiercest rival, Sebastien Vettel, was going to rub his nose in it with a comfortable victory. A win that would have put the young German 11 points ahead of Webber and the shift in power across the garage would likely have been irreversible. For Mark, at least, fate dealt a helping hand when a dominant Vettel was robbed of certain victory after his Renault engine disintegrated with no apparent warning.

Only too happy to watch the imploding Red Bulls ahead of him Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was there to pick up the pieces. He drove solidly and mostly kept himself out of trouble, despite the woeful light conditions towards the end of the race. Amazingly, he now finds himself 11 points ahead of Webber in the drivers’ title race. A few weeks back he was the fifth man in the chasing pack.

With just two more races to go, can Fernando hold off the inevitable challenge from those closest behind? Brazil is next and Webber is the defending race winner. How he would love an encore performance in two weeks time.

For now, though, catch up on all the drama from last weekend with 80 pics from the inaugural Korean Grand Prix.

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AIMS 2010: Photo gallery

AIMS 2010

Here is the AUSmotive photo gallery from the Australian International Motor Show industry day. There are 128 photos in all and you can simply click on each thumbnail to access a 2000px super image.

Highlights include a couple of track specials in the form of the awesome Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and the rear-engined V6 Renault Megane Trophy. Others to look out for are the Toyota FT-86G concept, the Ford Focus RS, a trio of Lamborghini Gallardos and the highly desirable Audi R8 V10 Spyder, which looks great in all white.

Dedicated articles on the following cars can be access by clicking on the links below:

A big thank you to Daniel McKenna who joined the AUSmotive crew at AIMS and brought you many of the pictures you see here.

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Ferrari Formula 1 Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Renault

Japanese GP qualifying washed out

2010 Japanese Grand Prix

It would be out of the ordinary for AUSmotive to feature an image gallery on a Grand Prix weekend before the race had been run. It would be out of the ordinary for qualifying to be cancelled due to heavy and persistent rain. But these extraordinary events have happened today, and when you see the pictures, mostly taken during this morning’s Free Practice 3 session, you will see why.

Heavy rain started to fall this morning at the Suzuka circuit and barely abated all day. Despite several delays to allow conditions to improve qualifying was eventually called off and is now scheduled to be run tomorrow morning at 10am Japan time (midday AEDT). The race will go ahead as scheduled at 3pm (5pm AEDT). Weather conditions are expected to improve.

As well as the pics below you can also read the concise and somewhat humourous qualifying report from Lotus Racing.

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Ferrari Formula 1 Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Renault

2010 Singapore Grand Prix in pictures

2010 Singapore GP

Fernando added to his Italian Grand Prix win to make it a double with victory in Singapore. By doing so he has put himself right at the pointy end of the driver’s title race; he’s now second. Sebastien set the field alight during practice but faltered during qualifying and played second fiddle to Alonso for the rest of weekend, despite having the faster car. But for a couple of Safety Car periods these guys would have led the field home with a minute to spare, they were streets ahead.

Mark struggled during the weekend and started from fifth, but a pit stop gamble after the first Safety Car period inside five laps saw him claw his way into third place after the lead cars completed their stops. After the second Safety Car period Hamilton, in fourth, made a ballsy move to overtake Mark. It almost came off, too, but there was contact between the two and Webber walked away with the luck, while Hamilton was forced to take an early shower for the second race in a row.

Aside from that, the action was a bit light on, save for a few hit and giggle incidents towards the back of the field. Perhaps the only other aspect of this race worth noting is the ease with which Schumacher gets pushed aside by his peer group these days. It indicates the seven time champion continues to struggle with the pace of current day F1 cars.

Recapture the vibe with over 70 images after the break.

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Ferrari Formula 1 McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Renault

2010 Italian Grand Prix in pictures

2010 Italian Grand Prix

Fast Fernando fled the field at Monza to send the tifosi into raptures. Button teased them for a moment with a banzai move on the first lap. Massa fumbled about with an over excited Hamilton, before taking no further part in any racing action on his way to the last podium step. Vettel cried about his engine dying before finding the on switch and coming home in fourth. This, mind you, after completing almost the entire race of the soft tyres.

Britney outperformed that Michael bloke, yet again. Aussie Mark fluffed the start, yet again, but scored enough points to find himself at the very pointy end of the drivers’ title race. So pointy, in fact, he is out in front. Mind, his arch rival in fifth place, is within striking distance. So this is one title race that will go down to the wire.

Pedro de la Rosa won’t be winning any races. Rumours suggest Monza is likely to be his last F1 outing after being shown the door in favour of Quick Nick (Heidfeld) who is back for a third try at success with Sauber.

There’s sixty plus pics for you all after the break, which should keep you happy until the sun goes down in Singapore in a couple of weeks time.

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Ferrari Formula 1 McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Renault

2010 Belgian Grand Prix in pictures

2010 Belgian Grand Prix

As expected the McLaren chassis was more suited to the high speed straights of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit compared to the Red Bull Racing machines. Also, as expected, rain played havoc with best laid plans and while the first three drivers on the starting grid ended up forming the podium placings, the race was anything but straightforward.

Inclement weather and safety car periods ensured the 2010 Belgian GP was a race you could not afford to stop watching. Ultimately, though, Lewis Hamilton drove an almost flawless race in his McLaren to take home the major trophy. There was one blemish, however, which almost cost him the race. At around three quarter distance more rain came. Holding out on slicks as long as he dared, the wet track provided no grip for Hamilton’s braking into Rivage and he went off into the gravel and narrowly avoided contact with the tyre wall. Luckily for him he had enough of a gap to rejoin the circuit with his lead in tact. With the race win Hamilton also takes a slender lead in the drivers’ title race.

Despite starting from pole, Mark Webber had a dreadful start, he found himself in sixth place by the first corner. Through dexterity and determination he managed to stay on the black stuff the whole race and worked his way into a position where he could finish the race in second. Robert Kubica was consistently at the top of the time sheets throughout the weekend and he spent much of the race in second position. It wasn’t until the final flurry of pitstops that he over shot his pitlane box by a metre or so. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to allow Webber to exit pitlane ahead of the Pole.

Elsewhere Fernando Alonso spun his Ferrari out of the race towards the end and Sebastian Vettel crashed his Red Bull into the side of Jenson Button’s McLaren. Vettel was able to continue, but was well out of contention due to a drive-through penalty for the contact with Button and another imprecise overtaking move on Tonio Liuzzi (Force India). This contact resulted in a rear puncture for Vettel who needed a the best part of a full lap to limp back to the pits.

The lack of points for those three drivers saw Hamilton and Webber begin to build a gap on the chasing pack. With six races left, are we starting to see the makings of a classic two-horse race for the championship?

An image gallery of pics from the race is all yours after the break. All images can be accessed as 2000px super images by clicking on each pic to load the larger version.

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Formula 1 McLaren Red Bull Racing Renault

2010 Belgian GP – post-race press conference

2010 Belgian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) won the Belgian Grand Prix overnight. Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing), who started the race from pole position, finished second. While Robert Kubica (Renault) capped off a great weekend for him with third place, although it could have been more. The full text from the post-race press conference is available below. A picture gallery from the race will follow soon.

[Source: FIA]

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