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Renault unveil new F1 car
24/01/2007 18:57 - (SA)
Amsterdam - Renault unveiled their new Formula One car on Wednesday, hoping it can secure the team a third straight driver and constructor title - this time without Fernando Alonso.
Alonso and Renault won both titles in 2005 and 2006, but the Spaniard will be piloting a McLaren when the season starts on March 18 in Melbourne, Australia.
Renault now has an experienced driver in Italy's Giancarlo Fisichella to race alongside Finnish rookie Heikki Kovalainen.
"Double championship success in 2005 and 2006 has earned Renault its status as a major force in Formula One," team president Alain Dassas said in a statement.
The new car is known as the R27 and was presented on Wednesday in Amsterdam, the base of team sponsor ING.
It is powered by a 2.4-litre V8 engine based on the powerplant used in the Chinese and Japanese races last season. It has been modified and retuned to ensure it sticks to the maximum 19 000 rpm limit imposed on teams for the 2007 season.
"Our work for 2007 has been very different to previous years," team deputy managing director Rob White said. "Rather than designing a new engine, as we have done every season since 2001, the regulations have limited our work to optimising how the engine operates within the new 19 000 rpm rev limit."
He said that, while previous engines have contained more than 95% new parts, this year's contains just 10%.
The Red Bull Racing team will use the same engine in 2007.
Renault racked up 2 000km in the R27 during testing in Jerez, Spain, last week.
Kovalainen, promoted from test driver to racer this season, said he was looking forward to the new challenge.
"I pushed myself very hard last year in testing, to show the team that I was capable of doing the job," he said. "They had faith in me, and now it is my turn to deliver on that promise."
- AP
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