Renault’s 2020 car, the RS20, has finally broken cover publicly featuring an all-black livery as Formula 1 testing begins.
William’s George Russell was the first driver out on track but Esteban Ocon wasn’t far behind completing an early installation lap on Wednesday.
The French manufacturer has been very secretive of their new car in the build-up, but the first image has revealed a clear change towards a Mercedes-style nose.
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Renault head into 2020 with mixed expectations as they look to rebound from a disappointing season last year, losing ‘best of the rest’ status to customer team McLaren, but also with one eye firmly on 2021.
Several personnel changes were made in the technical department to try and boost development, including the arrival of former McLaren engineer Pat Fry.
But while he was credited for helping the Woking-based team move up the grid last year, Fry admits doing the same at Renault won’t be so easy.
“The challenge is different,” he said. “McLaren had a few specific problems that were not simple to fix but there was some low-hanging fruit, I guess.
“I’ve only been here for a few days now, so I think that there are lots of things we need to be doing and reviewing.
“It’s too early to see exactly where we are.
“There are lots of good people and lots of good tools and you need that right combination of the best tools, the best people and the best methodologies to actually develop.
“I think that is key to making it work.
“The car programme, I am only just getting into it really. I’m trying to have a quick look at all the areas to see where I think my time is best spent to start with.
“McLaren was a bit different because it was just going for a fix of that particular car.”
