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Automakers outsource a variety of components to OEM suppliers. The parts could be as small as a screw or as large as the entire car itself, contracting the entire assembly process to outside bidders. But while some automakers make more or less of the parts in-house, one component is always outsourced: the tires.

Renault, however, takes exception to that rule, and in characteristic French defiance is rolling out its own line of tires. Rather than equipping new vehicles with its own rubber, however, the tires are being marketed to existing Renault owners as replacement rubber.

As Autoblog postulate, Renault won't be building this tyre themselves. The infrastructure and materials required would make this an expensive exercise. Instead, they would have contracted this work from another tyre manufacturer.

One wonders if this is the beginning of highly customised tyres for specific vehicles. On the one hand that may prove expensive for the manufacturer to maintain multiple product lines, but on the same note, they can set the price of replacement tyres, which could become quite lucrative for them.

Hopefully we don't go down this road and instead see a price reduction on new car manufacturing costs passed onto the consumer.

Renault are targeting a return to the top three in the constructors' championship in 2011 thanks to the bold design of their new car, the R31. The team, who last won the title back in 2006, haven’t finished higher than fourth in the standings since 2007 and took fifth place last season.

After recently unveiling their new black and gold livery, the Group Lotus-backed team are currently hard at work in their Enstone factory putting the finishing touches to the 2011 challenger, which will be unveiled in Valencia on January 31.

“We started developing the new car in May last year and we started manufacturing during the first part of summer,” said the team’s COO Patrick Louis in a video on the official Group Lotus website. “The pressure is there. The objective of the team is to finish in the top three of the championship.”

Although keen to keep the media guessing about the finer details of the R31 until its launch at the end of the month, Renault technical director James Allison admitted the new car’s design concept is a bold one.

"This time of year is a heady mix of both thrilling excitement, of finding out, confirming that all your plans are coming to fruition, and also abject terror that you will not deliver the thing in time,” Allison explained. “Anyone who follows the sport will have seen that words like aggressive and brave are being bandied around across several of the teams this year for their solutions. I believe that we have chosen a direction that is really on the brave end of brave."

Whenever a team say they are taking a bold direction with a new car, they never seem to live up to their hype. But after a few years in the wilderness, there will be few teams as hungry for victory (with the exception of Ferrari one would assume) as Renault. If they get their act together, we could be looking at a 5 way fight for the championship between Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz and Renault.

Robert Kubica has committed himself to Renault until the end of the 2012 season.

(CNN) -- Robert Kubica has signed a contract extension that will keep him at Renault until the end of the 2012 season.

The Polish Formula One driver is lying sixth in the drivers' championship after a string of impressive performances this season.

He finished second at the Australian Grand Prix, third in Monaco and fifth in Valencia at the European Grand Prix.

The 25-year-old's strong form meant he was linked with a move to rivals Ferrari but he has opted to prolong his stay with Renault.

The speculation is over people, let's get back to the on-track action.

motorcentral Wrote: These reliability issues really are a concern, but the pace of the car is there. Hopefully Red Bull and Renault get to the bottom of these issues.

Webber hushed over Red Bull pace

19 February 2010 / Results / Photos

 

Mark Webber was not giving a large amount away after posting the quickest time on a rare dry day of testing at Jerez on Friday. The Australian topped the timesheets for Red Bull courtesy of a quickest lap of 1:19.299, beating second placed Fernando Alonso's Ferrari by over eight tenths of a second.

 

With Red Bull having rolled out its car in Jerez after launching the RB6 in the pit lane last Thursday, this Friday proved to be the first proper day of dry running for the Renault-powered machine, which Webber took over from team-mate Sebastian Vettel for today and tomorrow.

 

Webber proved rapid on Friday despite a stoppage between corners 8 and 9 at Jerez

"We're certainly showing some good form in terms of reliability but we always need to work on performance - you never know what the other teams are doing," double race winner Mark said on Friday evening.

"We're in a good position at the moment to build up to the first race - it's close but there's also quite a way to go, as other teams have no doubt planned developments for Bahrain. We're doing the work we need to do, in order to understand the car more."

via f1.gpupdate.net