RENAULT R.S.17 - A "CLEAN SHEET OF PAPER" APPROACH

After Williams and Sauber revealed images of their respective new challengers, Renault have become the first team to physically unveil their 2017 contender at a glittering launch event in central London. Retaining the distinctive yellow and black livery which returned to F1 last year, the French manufacturer-owned team are eyeing a significant leap in competitiveness - with a fifth-placed finish the stated 2017 target.

"The RS17 is the first car which Enstone and Viry [Renault's UK and French F1 bases] have been able to plan and develop from the outset and we're satisfied by the fruits of this interaction," said Renault Sport president Jerome Stoll. "It's a beautiful car. For 2017 our performance targets are clear. We want to take a definite, tangible step forward in performance and results. Fifth position in the Constructors' Championship is our goal."

Renault confirmed Russia's Sergey Sirotkin as their reserve driver for 2017, with four-time world champion and long-time Renault ambassador Alain Prost to act as a special advisor to the team's management.

Renault engine boss Remi Taffin said a major effort had gone into the new engine, which started development in 2015 and first ran on a dyno in June ast year.

"Ninety-five per cent is different, but it'll still look like a V6 turbo! We put a lot of effort to gain on the weight on every single part as we knew we need to make an effort on that part."

"This engine is more based on what we'll be doing for the next three years. When you say are you on the limit? No, not yet but the plan is there and we'll be on the limit for sure with what we've got in mind and the rest is....when you put an engine in the car, it's more how you install it, the cooling is much different to what we did last year, the way we installed the ERS is different. The way also we get the engine into the car is different. Some of the concept, the choices we've made are different, so...it's 95 per cent different."