Renault this year - deja vu of Benetton back in the Schumacher days?

[Yoong Montoya]

For instance, Alonso was able to do as many laps as Schumacher, despite only having 5.8 secs of fuel to Schumacher's 6.8 seconds. I recall the same thing happening in Brazil in 1994, where Schumacher's pitstop took something like 2 seconds less than Senna's (I think Schumacher's was 7 seconds, whereas Senna's was 9 seconds), yet was able to actually stay out longer than Senna.

Benetton's 1994 car was also supposed to be very good aerodynamically (at least in Schumacher's hands), just like the Renault car this year.

What do you think?

[Fish_Flake]

Because since the 1980s, after Lotus fell to midfield status, the only two teams to challenge the big three teams have been Renault in the early 1980s and Benetton in the Schumacher days, and now Benetton is Renault, I say it is only natural that Renault steps up.

[Raven]

I think Benetton were cheating with the fuel rig in 94.

[Mania]

Benetton/Renault have always been pretty slick with their pit work...the 5.8 sec stop was pretty awesome.

But still...they`re going to take some pain when they get to high speed tracks like Montreal and Monza.

[MichaelH]

Renault did a great job and deserved to impress as they did. They're my tip for the A1 Ring, definately.

[DNQ]

Not mine for the A1-Ring...it's full throttle there for 70% of the circuit, more than any other track, and that's not where the Renault is strong. Monaco is where they will WIN.

[Inigo Montoya]

Like I said in another thread, they are a threat for sure - especially with the extra 20 hp the new engine will give them in Austria.

[f1manoz]

Renault have certainly got the capacity and technological know-how to challenge the big three, and with a driver like Alonso, they are surely capable of upsetting the apple-cart.

[TeddyG]

wow I am really impressed with Renault...I really hope Villeneve can get some reliability with his car and impress them...Renault is the team of the future! I have heard Trulli may be out next season...Villeneuve and Renault just make sense to me! However if Alonso is their man it probably wouldn't be good to put JV in there and upset things. However Renault have always liked Jacques...and before you all start with salery talk...JV would drive for peanuts if given an opportunity to win!

[Wrex]

If you had to put money on un upset win, Alonso in Monaco or Hungry would be a very good place to start.

I could'nt believe how much better that renault was through the corners than everyone else.

[Lee Janotta]

Actually, Fish, Lotus was still going fairly strong when Renault were pulling the plug on their own team. Admittedly, nearly all of that was Senna's doing.

[jetsetter]

I've no doubt that Renault will be a winner at some stage this year but if they're to do it on a high speed circuit they badly need some extra horse power to challenge the Ferrari's.

[TeddyG]

Renault look to take Williams place and next year I really believe they will challenge for the title...I had no idea they were this competitive. All they need is a little more grunt.

[Red]

The comparison is good, at least from engine's point of view. The Ford V8, like today's Renault, were not the most powerful engine on grid, but very driveable and certainly better than other V10 regarding fuel consumption.

[RWC]

While benetton were cheating with their fuel rig in '94,there's no reason to think they are again.Remember we don't know how much fuel they had in the tank allready on the weekend.They may have just brought him in to suit a gap in the traffic.

[climb]

Wish the Lord!
F1 does need more competition!