Renault are frustrated by the impending exhaust-blown diffuser ban which is set to hit the sport after the next race in Valencia.
The team, along with their engine supplier, have worked on perfecting the system since development began on their R31 last year. The clever forward-facing exhausts exploit the system to the maximum, but from Silverstone onwards, they will offer very little in the way of an advantage.
Team principal Eric Boullier, has compared the effective banning of Renault’s clever innovation to that of last years F-Duct, which was also banned after teams spent millions copying the McLaren championed device.
“I can feel what McLaren felt when they decided to ban the F-Duct,” he told Speedtv.com. “To be honest, we’re not thinking too much about it. But when you want to go one route, if the FIA is changing the rules, we have to stick to the rules.
“We need to understand the exact reason, but if at the end the decision is to ban these systems, we’ll work on something else.”
Boullier is hoping the Renault engineers can make the ban work for them, as it will likely clip every cars performance in one way or another.
“It’s definitely a change, and if we can make it work differently on our car, we’ll do everything we can,” he added.
McLaren Martin Whitmarsh is rather more positive about the news, as they hope to close the gap to championship leaders Red Bull, particularly in qualifying.
“It’s quite possible we will close up in qualifying by half a second [if the ban goes ahead],” he told Auto und Motor Sport.
