The ING Renault F1 Team roars into F1 with the launch of its R27 racer, aiming for continued on-track success. The ING Renault F1 Team nailed its new colors to the mast with the launch of the all-new R27 F1 car and a striking visual identity.

The ING Renault F1 Team signales its arrival in Formula 1 in style, with a spectacular media presentation in front of 600 VIPs and media in Amsterdam today (1/24/2007). Winners of consecutive world championships in 2005 and 2006, the team proudly unveiled new title partner ING and the striking new livery that will adorn the R27 cars throughout the 2007 season and beyond.

Renault F1 Team President Alain Dassas spoke of “exciting challenges” for the coming season, which will see the team’s championship campaign spearheaded by Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, in his third season with the team, and Finnish rookie Heikki Kovalainen.

“Double championship success in 2005 and 2006 has earned Renault its status as a major force in Formula 1,” asserted Dassas. “Our Formula 1 championship success is a benchmark of excellence that we aim to meet in every area of our operations. The Renault F1 Team’s performance culture reflects the ambitious objectives of our company-wide plan, Renault Commitment 2009. Consecutive double championships are concrete proof that Renault can win in a demanding environment where success demands quality, technical excellence and reliability.

“We must now live up to that reputation. The team will present a fresh face to the world with the arrival of ING as our new title partner, and we are proud to welcome this major, global financial institution to Formula 1. But on track, our challenge will remain the same: we will be asking our technical teams and drivers to make Renault a championship contender in 2007.”

After evaluating the three top teams in Formula 1, ING selected the Renault F1 Team as the perfect fit for its first global marketing campaign. With a reach of 60 million clients around the world, ING is seeking to exploit its significant investment in Formula 1, which will also include title sponsorship of the opening round of the season in Australia, to grow brand awareness globally. The Renault F1 Team’s track record as a proven winner was a decisive factor in their decision to sponsor the reigning world champions.

The ING Renault F1 Team’s 2007 challenger has been christened R27. The new car represents an evolution of the design philosophy that won world championship success in 2005 and 2006. Every part of the car has been designed to meet demanding performance criteria that will enable the team to maintain its front-running performance. The aerodynamic packaging represents a further step forward over its predecessor in terms of overall efficiency, and innovative solutions have been employed in a number of areas to achieve improved performance under stable technical regulations. The car also features a new ‘instantaneous gearchange’ seven-speed gearbox, and has been designed with maximum set-up flexibility in order that its dynamic characteristics can be tuned to suit the Bridgestone Potenza tires that will be used by every team in 2007.

“I am very proud of the team’s work on R27,” commented Technical Director Bob Bell. “We have enjoyed two seasons of remarkable success, but there is no complacency at all at Renault. Finding performance under stable regulations always obeys the law of diminishing returns, but our technical group has worked hard to innovate and ensure that the new car represents a genuine step forward over its predecessor in every area."

The new car will be powered by the 2.4L V8 RS27 engine, which has been designed to the requirements of the ‘engine homologation’ regulations which will be in force for 2007 and beyond. Conceived to limit expenditure on engine development, these rules specify that no performance improvements can be made to the engine relative to the definitive specification that will be submitted to the FIA by 1 March 2007. The engine is based on the RS26 V8 engine that competed in the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix last season, and has been re-tuned in line with modifications permitted by the regulations for the new maximum rev limit of 19,000 rpm that will be imposed on all competitors.

“Our work for 2007 has been very different to previous years,” revealed the team’s Deputy Managing Director (Engine), Rob White. “Rather than designing a new engine, as we have done every season since 2001, the regulations have limited our work to optimizing how the engine operates within the new 19,000 rpm rev limit. Our development work has been conducted within the framework of the new rules and although the engine will be called RS27, it contains just 10% new parts – compared to over 95% in previous years. However, it remains one of the most advanced competition engines in the world, operating in an extreme environment, with tiny margins for error. As always, our goal will be to achieve the only acceptable objective for a topline Formula 1 engine: zero-defect reliability. We have worked hard to blend this with competitive performance for the season ahead.”

The RS27 engine will also equip the cars of Red Bull Racing during the 2007 season, under the terms of a new engine supply agreement. The agreement specifies that both teams will use the same specification of engine, and a team of Renault F1 Team engineers will provide trackside support to Red Bull Racing. The new agreement marks the continuation of a tradition that begin in 1983, and which has seen customer Renault engines win 80 Grands Prix since that time. “We are very much looking forward to the new challenge, which is part of Renault’s racing tradition,” explained the team’s Head of Engine Track Operations Denis Chevrier. “We will be looking to derive maximum benefit from every kilometer completed by a Renault engine, to improve the performance and reliability of all four Renault engines on track. But Red Bull Racing will remain a competitor like any other for the ING Renault F1 Team. We have established very clear operating principles for the new relationship, and look forward to an honest, trusting collaboration with our new partners.”