Renault R31
Lotus Renault GP | |||||||||||
Notable drivers | 9. ![]() 9. ![]() 10. ![]() | ||||||||||
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Debut | 2011 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
Last event | 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
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The Renault R31 was a
Design
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/2011_Robert_Kubica_testing_in_Valencia_in_Renault_R31.jpg/220px-2011_Robert_Kubica_testing_in_Valencia_in_Renault_R31.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Renault_R31_forward_exhaust_2011_Malaysia_pit.jpg/220px-Renault_R31_forward_exhaust_2011_Malaysia_pit.jpg)
The R31 was unveiled at the
"The layout which had promised so much, and which, had it delivered, would have been almost impossible to copy, proved very tricky to develop and had a fundamental weakness in slow corners that has been an albatross around our neck all year. [8]
Martin Brundle described the forward-facing exhaust as "sounding like a bag of nails." However David Coulthard disproved this theory by buying a bag of nails.[9]
Controversy
The car's distinctive black and gold livery was designed as a tribute to the Team Lotus cars of the 1980s and the famous John Player Special liveries (those cars also used Renault engines). Speculation suggested that as the design is reminiscent of a cigarette package, the team would be in violation of strict anti-tobacco laws in Canada and would be unable to use it at the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix. However, senior team personnel dismissed the claims,[10] stating that "another famous team" was racing with colours similar to those of another tobacco brand and had done so in Canada without trouble in previous years. Ultimately, the car raced in Canada with no changes to its livery.
Season review
It was a solid début for the R31 with
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Vitaly_Petrov_2011_Malaysia_FP2.jpg/220px-Vitaly_Petrov_2011_Malaysia_FP2.jpg)
In Monaco Petrov crashed out from sixth place with 6 laps to go, knocking himself unconscious temporarily, and causing a red flag. Heidfeld still collected valuable points though, finishing in eighth again. In a wet Canadian Grand Prix, it was Heidfeld's turn to crash, this time from fourth; Petrov however, still took fifth by the end of the race. Heidfeld took points in both Valencia and Britain to keep them ahead of Mercedes for as long as possible, before they ended up fifth after the Silverstone race. Two retirements for Heidfeld followed in his final two races for the team in Germany and Hungary, both causing significant damage to the R31. With only a ninth in Germany for Petrov, at the team's first no score of the season in Hungary it was obvious development of the R31 was not fast enough and they were slipping backwards.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/B_Senna_Monza_2011.jpg/220px-B_Senna_Monza_2011.jpg)
After the summer break, the car seemed to have rediscovered form in qualifying; with Heidfeld's replacement Bruno Senna qualifying seventh in mixed weather in Spa and Petrov tenth - and the pair the opposite way around in Monza. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for these races, with only two ninth places (and Senna's first points) from the pair of them. Things seemed dreadful for them in the Singapore Grand Prix, a track that definitely did not suit the car, because Petrov was knocked out in Q1 and Senna was only fifteenth in qualifying. Senna did not improve his position in the race, and Petrov moved up one place. This meant the team were struggling even to maintain their fifth place in the Constructors' Championship - sixth placed Force India had scored 36 points in the last four Grands Prix to Renault's 4, and were now only 22 points behind. Both Senna and Petrov returned to the top ten in qualifying in the Japanese Grand Prix, and after a close race with many other cars for the tail end of the points, Petrov eventually took ninth with Senna down in nineteenth. Three disappointing races followed in Korea, India and Abu Dhabi, where neither driver scored a point. Petrov finished tenth to score one point at the R31's final race, and 2011 season finale at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Senna failed to score points by finishing in seventeenth, yet Renault remained fifth in the Constructors' Championship standings with a best result of third place, albeit being 95 points behind Mercedes.
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 | Points | WCC |
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2011 | Lotus Renault GP | Renault RS27 V8
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P | AUS | MAL | CHN | TUR | ESP | MON | CAN | EUR | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | KOR | IND | ABU | BRA | 73 | 5th | |
Nick Heidfeld | 12 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 8 | Ret | 10 | 8 | Ret | Ret | ||||||||||||||
Bruno Senna | 13 | 9 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 17 | |||||||||||||||||
Vitaly Petrov | 3 | 17 † | 9 | 8 | 11 | Ret | 5 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 9 | Ret | 17 | 9 | Ret | 11 | 13 | 10 |
† Driver failed to finish the race, but was classified as they had completed >90% of the race distance.
References
- Renault GP. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ "Renault to unveil R31 ahead of first test". Formula1.com. Formula One Administration. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
- Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
- Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
- ^ Allen, James (2011-02-02). "Valencia Test: Day 2 – Ferrari and Alonso step up". James Allen on F1. James Allen. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
- Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
- ^ "Renault admits its 2011 car and exhaust concept was a 'bold failure'". Autosport. November 19, 2011. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
- ^ "Martin Brundle's Racing Lines - 2011 Races". Archived from the original on 2011-07-31. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
- ^ Collantine, Keith (2011-01-31). "Lopez has no concerns over tobacco branding". F1 Fanatic. Keith Collantine. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
External links
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