Renault R.S.16

Renault R.S.16
Race Car
Category	Formula One
Constructor	Renault
Designer	Bob Bell (Chief Technical Officer) Nick Chester (Chassis Technical Director) Chris Cooney (Engineering Director) Martin Tolliday (Chief Designer) Simon Virrill (Project Leader) Nicolas Hennel (Head of Aerodynamics) Jon Tomlinson (Chief Aerodynamicist)
Predecessor	Lotus E23 Hybrid
Successor	Renault R.S.17
Chassis	Carbon-fibre composite survival cel
Suspension (front)	{{{Front Suspension}}}
Suspension (rear)	{{{Rear Suspension}}}
Engine	Mecachrome-built Renault R.E.16 turbocharged 1.6 L (98 cu in) V6 engine engine (90°), limited to 15,000 RPM in a mid-mounted, rear-wheel drive layout
Electric_motor	Infiniti kinetic and thermal energy recovery systems
Battery	{{{Battery}}}
Power	{{{Power}}}
Transmission	In-house Renault semi-automatic sequential gearbox with eight forward and one reverse gear
Weight	{{{Weight}}}
Fuel	Total Excellium 102 RON 94.25% + 5.75% biofuel
Brakes	{{{Brakes}}}
Tyres	Pirelli P Zero (dry), Cinturato (wet)
Notable entrants	Renault Sport F1 Team
Notable drivers	20. Kevin Magnussen 30. Jolyon Palmer
Debut	2016 Australian Grand Prix
Races competed	21
Race victories	0
Podiums	0
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0

The Renault R.S.16 was a Formula One racing car designed by the Renault Sport Formula One Team to compete in the 2016 Formula One season, and marked Renault's return to the sport as a constructor after a five-year absence.

Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer were race team drivers, whilst Esteban Ocon was the reserve driver.

Development

Technical team

The chassis was designed by Nick Chester, Chris Cooney, Martin Tolliday and Nicolas Hennel with Bob Bell overseeing the design and production of the car as chief technical officer and Rémi Taffin leading the powertrain design. The car was built in Enstone in Oxfordshire with the engine supplied from Viry-Châtillon in France.

Vehicle development

In testing, the R.S. 16 used a black livery that was replaced for the season

Nick Chester admitted that preparations for 2016 were limited by financial difficulty within the Lotus team. They also had a contract to use Mercedes engines for the new season, which meant a significant amount of the car that had been designed needed to be modified to fit the Renault power unit. Ahead of the first round of the season, the team admitted that the R.S 16 was a developmental and foundational year, using aero similar to the 2015 car and the engine a lightly modified version of the same years model. Many of the early modifications seen in testing were made due to FIA mandated requirements, such as the higher cockpit sides.

The team tested the car in a black livery during testing. At the Barcelona test, the team completed 343 laps or 992 miles. Days one and two were limited with just 79 laps across the two days, however Magnussen managed 260 laps alone in the new car. By the second test, the team completed a total of 776 laps, with Palmer suffering mechcnical errors during his test days.

Upon the start of the season, the FIA confirmed Renault had only used 7 of the available 32 tokens for engine development, leaving scope to progress. An upgrade did materialise for the engines at Monaco, where Magnussen took the B-spec unit, and another went to Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull Racing with the unit branded TAG.

By July, the team abandoned development of the R.S. 16 instead turning focus to the 2017 car.

Racing performance

The R.S. 16 was officially launched in Paris, in February 2016.

The R.S. 16 was a poor performer across the season for the team. Retirements were a regular occurrence during the season. In Bahrain, Palmer was unable to start the Grand Prix as his car failed during the formation lap. In Monaco, both cars would retire from the race, Palmer crashed as soon as the safety car allowed the race to begin, while Magnussen was involved in an incident at Rascasse when Daniil Kvyat attempted to unlap himself. Magnussen would retire at three more Grand Prix - Belgium, Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, his team mate Palmer chalked up another four retirements before the end of the season in Canada, Britain, Singapore and Brazil. This meant that across the 21 races, at 9 rounds at least one R.S. 16 did not make the finish.

The team scored points at three races, a seventh place finish in Russia for Magnussen being the cars best finish. He would score a further point in Singapore, and Palmer a point at Malaysia - his first in F1.

Scoring just 8 points during the season, it represented the teams worst performance since 2014, and for Renault as a constructor since 1978.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	Points	WCC
2016	Renault Sport F1 Team	Renault RE16 1.6 V6t	P		AUS	BHR	CHN	RUS	ESP	MON	CAN	EUR	AUT	GBR	HUN	GER	BEL	ITA	SIN	MAL	JPN	USA	MEX	BRA	ABU	8	9th
				Kevin Magnussen	12	11	17	7	15	Ret	16	14	14	17†	15	16	Ret	17	10	Ret	14	12	17	14	Ret
				Jolyon Palmer	11	DNS	22	13	13	Ret	Ret	15	12	Ret	12	19	15	Ret	15	10	12	13	14	Ret	17

† – Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Renault Clio R.S. 16

Renault Clio R.S. 16 developed and inspired by the return to Formula One

During the season, Renault's developed a Clio R.S. 16 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Renault Sport and their return to Formula One. The concept car was painted in the same colours as the R.S.16 Formula One car, and the promotional launch of the car featured Kevin Magnussen driving it at Monaco. The car also featured at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

References

This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Renault R.S.16. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Autopedia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.