“It’s true to say that the car has been designed in an ambitious manner and a quick glance at the layout will confirm that its entire concept differs considerably, not just from last year’s car, but from any car this team has ever produced” explains Allison. The exact benefit of this is unclear though Renault Technical Director James Allison did allude to it during the launch event. Heat management is critical in 2011 and no more so in the sidepods of the R31! A metal heat shield protects the carbon fibre floor ahead of the outlet, whilst a ceramic thermal barrier coating protects the areas to the rear.

Note the outlet behind the turning vale, the exhaust pipe is oval in section and split in two. (thanks to for the image above and our web developers tinyrocketship)

This is because the exhausts were blanked off by a triangular plate (see above), compare to the below with plate removed It is thought that the exhausts run forward from the engine bay and exit near the side pod inlets though there are no obvious apertures or heat shielding was evident at the launch they were revealed during the cars first runs. Instead the rear bodywork is continuous aside from the exit duct for the gearbox oil cooler. Renault’s engineers were given a short simple design brief with the R31, “be daring, try to innovate, take risks.” They have taken this to heart with the exhaust system design, during the very brief car reveal it quickly became clear that the car had no obvious exhaust outlets.

Download lotus renault f1 2011