2016 F1 Renault Car and New Motorsport
Program
The French brand returns to the grid as
a standalone manufacturer after a four-year sabbatical and it has just unveiled
this season's fighter.
Its Formula 1 program car will include
an in-house chassis as well as the French marque's existing R.E. 16 power unit.
Throughout 2016, Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer will race for Renault, with
Esteban Ocon as the third and reserve driver.
Renault-Nissan Alliance partner Infiniti
has also been confirmed as the primary partner for the Renault F1 squad,
leaving Red Bull Racing without a title sponsor.
The debut of the new F1 car came as
chairman and chief executive Carlos Ghosn announced two new pillars of the
French carmaker's performance division.
Renault Sport will consist of Renault
Sport Racing and Renault Sport Cars. The first of those will encompass all of
the company's motorsport activities, including Formula One, Formula Renault 2.0
and the Renault Sport R.S.01 Trophy series.
Meanwhile, Renault Sport Cars will be
behind the firm's high-performance road models, such as the the Megane RS and
Clio RS, that are supposed to get a publicity and image boost by the brand's
involvement in F1.
