Renault released the car with a grand unveiling at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. The difference between this and every other launch in recent years? They are the current Constructors' World Champions with the World Champion Driver (Fernando Alonso) at the wheel.



Alonso reckons that this is his last season with Renault as a move to rivals McLaren looks imminent for 2007. However, this didn't dampen his enthusiasm for the new R26. In an interview on Renault's Formula 1 site, he said "My hope was to find a car that was similar to the R25 we used last year, which meant I wanted it to be easy to drive, and to handle in a consistent way. That was what I felt the R26. It looks and feels like a very good evolution of last year’s car, with plenty of potential."

Renault technical director, Bob Bell agreed, suggesting that the R26 represents an 'aggressive evolution' of the '05 car, "We have worked on improving the car in every area," Bell said. "We have integrated the challenges posed by the new V8 engine, and continued on our performance development path. The most striking visual difference comes in the smaller sidepods on the car, but the entire aerodynamic package is new."
Alonso's response to the new V8 engine? Positive but guarded. Like all new engines, the greatest untested concern is reliability, "The team at Viry has done a fantastic job on the dyno, and the performance so far on the track has been very encouraging. With the first tests, the real concern is reliability. We have not had any mechanical problems so far, so there is a solid foundation."

One thing seems certain - the constructors championship will be one to watch - with Renault only beating McLaren-Mercedes by 9 points last season, though ironically, McLaren won 10 races to Renault's 8. And of course, you can never write-off Ferrari and their new 248.