The 2006 Renault R26
| By: Jeremy McMullen |
It is said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Tweaking, however, is another matter altogether. Coming into the 2006 season, Renault already had the chassis. The team also had the jockey capable of riding the wild pony to victory. So, it wasn’t that all surprising when Renault unveiled its 2006 challenger, the R26, it didn’t bear too much of a difference to its championship winning predecessor, the 2005 R25. However, before the end was up Renault would constantly have to fiddle with its design to make sure their drivers had a competitive car race after race. After all, McLaren-Mercedes showed greater pace toward the end of 2005 than Renault, then also there was that man named Schumacher everybody expected to re-emerge from obscurity.
Once again, the R26 sported the blue and yellow livery that had become synonymous with Renault, and as with 2005, would be piloted by then reigning world champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso with the second car driven by the Italian Giancarlo Fisichella.. The R26 revealed, however, a tighter package, a much more streamlined chassis to help with the ever troublesome details of controlling airflow and adding downforce but without increasing drag. While styling remained very much similar, the constant tweaking, even of a successful product, was evident.
The nose, at the time of the launch was more-narrow than that of its predecessor. The front wing was also more dramatic, with its deep scoop and contoured leading edges. The nose also included the half upper-cascading wing Renault introduced late in the 2005 season. The radiator sidepods were similar in appearance to the R25 but much more shapely and tighter from down by the splitter under the driver’s legs all the way back to the rear diffuser. The chimneys and T-wing on the sidepods were also slightly altered. The engine cowling itself had a more-gentle, rather constant slope given the redesign of the airbox. Although a minor detail, it is also interesting the mid-span wing attached to the trailing edge of the engine cowling was not included in the design of the R26. However, the rear wing sported much more contoured leading edges and wing shapes.
All-in-all, Renault new they already had a winning product on their hands given the fact the R26 was merely an improvement on the successful R25. However, Formula One constantly changes. A technological edge can take a decent team and make them a force to be reckoned with. This was the concern for Renault. Had the other teams possibly passed them up? The R26 was to be Renault’s answer to what the other teams brought to bear against them.
Right away things changed but did so with a good result. At the season’s first race in Bahrain, Renault showed up with an already redesigned front nose. The narrow design was abandoned in favor of a more wide profile, much like that of McLaren-Mercedes’ 2005 entries. It was pretty obvious however, the design paid dividends. In the R26’s first race it scored a victory as Fernando Alonso piloted the car to a finish a little over a second ahead of Schumacher in second.
Things were looking good right from the start as the R26 chassis would go on to take top honors at each of the first three races of the 2006 season. Giancarlo Fisichella finished first at the Malaysian grand prix sandwiched between Alonso victories at Bahrain and Australia. While the next two races at San Marino and the Nurburing would be won by Michael Schumacher and his Ferrari, Alonso kept the R26 right there coming in close behind in the second.
Up through this part of the season most of the changes taking place on the R26 were either for cooling purposes or for slight airflow refinement; nothing too radical. In Malaysia, where the heat and humidity kills F1 engines, a couple of cooling gills were added. Then for the European Grand Prix at the Nurburing, the end plate of the nose wing was refined. But that was pretty much all Renault had done to the car with the exception of the changes between the launch and the first race.
Fernando would take Renault back to the top step of the podium for the next four races. In fact, through the first nine races Fernando never finished worse than second. In Britain, Renault unveiled its controversial damper system. This system, located in the nose of the car, counteracted the imbalance in the nose especially when under heavy braking. This would help maintain a consistent airflow whether under braking or acceleration.
The revisions continued into the next race in Canada. According to engineers, some 16 revisions were made to the car for the race. Some of the more visible ones included “ears” located on the nose of the car, a redesigned rear wing, and also, sidepod shields, like BAR Honda debuted in 2005. With the win in Canada, the fourth in a row, the Renault R26 had proven itself to be a dominate force, but that reputation would be challenged for the remaining part of the season.
The best result Renault could post at the next race in Indianapolis was a third. Ferrari dominated the race from the beginning and would be a sign of how hard Renault would have to fight throughout the rest of the season. Alonso would get the R26 up to second for the French Grand Prix but Renault could not do any better than fifth and sixth for the next race in Germany.
In Germany the R26 sported a new front wing; the now familiar full-upper profile wing with a sweeping curve and attached right to the nose. This helped to provide greater amounts of downforce without added too much drag. Germany was also the sight of Renault’s mass dampening system coming under huge amounts of fire. The German stewards approved the system but the FIA appealed the ruling, hence Renault dropped it from their cars. This seemed to have an impact given the fact that for the next five races the best a R26 could do was second, twice.
During this spell of bad luck the R26 went through a slew of aero revisions and updates. Some of the changes included another set of “ears” near the cockpit of the car, resizing of the sidepod shields, and a reshaping of the upper-profile of the front wing for the race in China. This seemed to further help Renault get back on track and on top. In fact, at the very next race, round seventeen of eighteen, Fernando Alonso powered the R26 back to the top spot of the podium. More importantly, this victory gave Alonso a ten point advantage over his rival Michael Schumacher in the race for the World Drivers Championship. The result also helped Renault push a nine point advantage over Ferrari for the Constructor’s Championship.
With Michael’s relatively poor starting spot going into the final race in Brazil, Fernando drove a good but conservative race to finish second, but more importantly, to win the driver’s title. Renault, as a team, would also go on to win the constructors championship with the R26 design.
Like any initial design in Formula One these days the R26 went through many minor and major adjustments to keep pace with the competition. By the end of the season it was highly regarded Ferrari and McLaren had narrowed any gap Renault may have had after the 2005 season. Toward the end of the season Ferrari dominated races. And while proving to be too fragile to win a race, the McLaren-Mercedes chassis showed a fast pace and very good agility. When the cars are rather equal, in the end any worthwhile success rests squarely on the ability of the driver. Fernando Alonso was able to make up for any shortcomings the R26 had toward the end of the season and was strong enough to provide himself and Renault with back-to-back championships.
In its time in Formula One history the R26 achieved the driver and constructors championships. The R26 also achieved eight race wins, seven poles, and twenty-five top five performances. Like with any championship contender, failures to finish must be kept to a minimum, and Renault and the drivers were able to do just that. As a team, throughout the entire season, Renault only suffered four failures to finish. This proves a testament to the work of the team, the effort put into the design and its performance, and it is a testament to the team’s drivers. The whole package certainly worked in 2005 and Renault took and built upon what worked, tweaked it, and made it happen again.