"Benetton will be back on the pace at the French GP" Really??

[Tristan]

For AGES now, Benetton have been saying "wait till the French GP" "Just you wait till Mangy Cours". This weekend they take the de-tuning mechanisms off the 111-degree Renault to show what it REALLY can do.

But HOW good is it?? Where can we see the Benettons being in terms of pace??

[Ferrari Girl]

i hope they can pick up the pace, and catch up!
i miss benneton!

[Minardi fan]

If it goes like the clappers then great because it's the engine Minardi will be mostly likely to get next season. But I won't be surprised either way.

[mjstallard]

My misguided 6th sense says that it'll either be fighting with Jag (probably), or it will be up there in 3rd place engine stakes with Merc and Honda - and blow up. Although I've predicted for this race that Fizzy will be 5th. hmmmmmmmmm

[Valve Bounce]

This is a trully strange promise because if they do not deliver in front of their home crowd, it will be even worse than the BRM H16 fiasco. We will find the sound of the engines drowned out by the boos from the crowd.
I will hope and wish just once more, last time, I promise. I hope the 111 degree V10 will finally come good and I wish that Minardi will get that as a works engine next year.
Now I have to work up the nerve to press the "submit reply" button.

[JeremySmith]

Just you wait Benneton are going to scream around that circuit..I can hardly wait to see Button and Fisi driving the real car...

[tanalised]

Can any one tell me why they've waited untill the 9th or tenth race of the year to run the engine at its full potential? Sandbagging are they?

[Tristan]

Well it's basically to stop it going "bang"!! I remain to be convinced about this whole thing. There are a whole load of aerodynamic issues about the car that remain to be corrected as well. I dunno. When have renault ever been wrong before??

[Bononi]

Yes, Renault is something. So that can happen I hope.

[Tristan]

But what does having such a wide angle vee actually DO?? Why doesn't everyone else already have it?? What if it DOESN'T ACTUALLY WORK???

[touringlegend]

Doesn't it lower the centre of gravity, thus making the car handle better. But you can't have a really big angle, say 180 degrees, because it would shake the car to pieces. Correct me if I'm wrong as I'm not too sure.

[Mekola]

But Ferrari made in 1961 an engine with a degree of 120º for his 156 cars!

[Valve Bounce]

Originally posted by Tristan
But what does having such a wide angle vee actually DO?? Why doesn't everyone else already have it?? What if it DOESN'T ACTUALLY WORK???

I think the implications of using an 111 degree angle by Renault has been well discussed inte h Technical Forum. It has to do with the inherent imbalance of this configuration, and has nothing to do with the 120 degree or even 180 degree angles.
Of greater concern is the fact that Beneton have not had the opportunity of testingt ehengine inthe car between the European GP and France, and are coming in cold. I can see shades of the BRM H16 fiasco returning to F1. Practice later today will give an insight to teh reliability/prfomance of this "new" engine. There is an article in www.F1-Live.com about this latest Benneton development.

[Minardi fan]

If that's the all-new de-tunerised engine in the back of the Benetton, it doesn't seem to be much, if any, faster - the Saint was faster than both of them again...

[Wrex]

Yeah MF, whats with that?

I guess they are "saving" it as a suprise - for the cool down lap after the race

[Valve Bounce]

Originally posted by Wrex
Yeah MF, whats with that?

I guess they are "saving" it as a suprise - for the cool down lap after the race

Well, now we read that todays THE DAY. Benneton are going to introduce their new aerodynamic package and Renault their new engine TODAY. It looks like a case of $hit or Bust. I can hardly wait for the warm up session. However, don't you think that the French are leaving things way too late for their surprise? One thing for sure, somebody is going to get a surprise - one way or another.

[Valve Bounce]

Originally posted by Wrex
Yeah MF, whats with that?

I guess they are "saving" it as a suprise - for the cool down lap after the race

Well, now we read that todays THE DAY. Benneton are going to introduce their new aerodynamic package and Renault their new engine TODAY. It looks like a case of $hit or Bust. I can hardly wait for the warm up session. However, don't you think that the French are leaving things way too late for their surprise? One thing for sure, somebody is going to get a surprise - one way or another. By the way WREX, did you see the Lions did the Hawks 140 to 53? This was after they beat the Bombers 3 weeks ago. Maybe there is a chance for Benneton after all.

[JeremySmith]

Come on guys...Renault have proven their worth in the past, let's give them the benefit of the doubt...All of us including some other F1 teams may be in for a very big surprise..IMO I think they are going to run a brand NEW car tomorrow...No I am not joking, waiting in the wings is a NEW BENETTON tested and working just fine..Jenson will drive the **** out of it too..

Go Jenson and Fisi!

[Tristan]

Still, if there isn't a MIRACLE tomorrow, then this weekend must go down as a bitter dissapointment for the Benetton team.

[davebreen]

I think if Benetton dont hook things up tomorrow, this season must go down as a shambles. Must seem like centries ago to them since TGF was winning the WDC and Jos was up in flames in the pits!

[Valve Bounce]

Well, there has been a slight improvement - certainly not earth shattering judgeing by the qualifying times. However, they have improved and lifted themselves out of the cellar. Now let's hope that both cars finish - that's the next step. It will be several more races (or months) before the car competes with the likes of Jordan or BAR or Jaguar in quals.

[Bononi]

Well, 19 & 20 at warm up - nothing bad...