Renault 2003 - What could have been?

[Spudgun]

This is a strange thread to originate from a die-hard Williams fan, but this thought always bugs me...

I've been thinking what would have happened in 2003 had Renault not had the underpowered wide-angle V10?

It's a shame the wide-angle V couldn't produce enough power in 2003, as the chassis was very, very good and gave them excellent results despite the relative lack of power. If the engine had been more powerful I think there would have been a reasonable chance that they could have taken the Championship(s). Even when they switched back to 72 degrees in 2004, the chassis was still very quick albeit a bit hairy on the ragged edge.

Its early days, but in 2005 everything seems to have come together for them and they have the best chance yet for a shot at glory. As a side note I'm surprised that they have gone from strength to strength despite the loss of Gascoyne to Toyota a couple of years ago. I must confess I was expecting a decline.

[Dixie Flatline]

Ifs, buts and maybes.

If Montoya hadn't been penalised at Indy, then perhaps we would have had a three-way dance for the drivers' title at Suzuka, but he was, so we didn't.

As I consistently say whenever a thread of this ilk is started, you could drive yourself mental thinking about what might have been if something different had happened. The record books speak for themselves, so don't get too caught up on musing what might have been.

Perhaps, if you haven't already done so, you might like to pick up the latest copy of F1 Racing magazine and read through Alonso's article on the Renault R25 which was written before the season got underway. I'm paraphrasing, but he said something to the effect that the lessons learned with the wide-angle V10 and the more conventional V10 were very valuable when it came to designing the current iteration of the car.

[BootsOntheSide]

The nature of the 2003 engine gave them better weight distribution and as such a better centre of gravity, which certainly helped performance at tracks like Hungary. A lot of parts of the car were designed around the engine, it was almost an entire design philosophy, and the car would've been completely different with a conventional engine. From a spectator's point of view, the nature of the engine was a good thing, because it made their performance less consistant and harder to predict.