McLaren and Renault.?

I think that to answer this question properly we have to go back to the 2004 season, where ferrari had the biggest domination in years, the races were becoming more and more boring, so, what the FIA together with Ecclestone did was changing the rules as to slow Ferrari down, in particular Schumacher, take away their advantages and level the field out. From more tire changes you had to run the quali and race with the same tires, from more engines per weekend they moved to same engine for two weekends and so on, which suited much better the more reliable but less performant engines. In the first year after the rules changed Ferrari was in the ditch completely and Renault, even though less competitive performance wise than mclaren was a lot more reliable, that's why they won both championships.

Also, it's a cyclic thing in F1, where one team or another does a bigger push towards winning, they get a bigger budget, they get new sponsors etc.

Renault was caught by surprise this year because of the sole tire manufacturer, they had no expertise with Bridgestone and for some reason it didn't suit them from the beggining.

It is kinda odd that Renault's form has been below par. But you have to remember that Alonso is an experienced driver who of a much higher skill calibre than Fisi, and although Heikki Kovalainen seem to have the stuff he's still a rookie. So therefore Renault lost a vital car development asset when they lost Alonso.

It is also very true that the setup of the Renault car was and I think still is not well suited to the less grippy Bridgestones. Their focus on rear weight distribution has hurt them dearly.

As for Alonso having had contact with Stepney before his move to Mclaren: I don't think so. There was actually no direct contact between Alonso and Stepney, it was all Pedro de la Rosa and Stepney. And even then Alonso's contact with Pedro about Stepney seem to have been very limited.

F1 is a very volatile sport, with one team on top at the moment and the next thing you know they are running in the midfield again. Changes in rules esp. those that define the kind of technology and setup used are normally to blame as a team can have a bias towards a certain setup and a small change of the rules can mess them up totally!!

Hope this helps.

I also think the biggest factor affecting Renault is the adjustment to the Bridgestone tires from the Michelins.

However, as others have said, you make aero changes to your chassis at the beginning of the year, and sometimes it doesn't work, or doesn't work as well as the adjustments other teams made.

I find it almost as amazing the difference in performance between Ferrari and McLaren in the last two races. (Both fast tracks with little aero downforce) McLaren was faster two weeks ago and Ferrari dominated Spa. Sometimes, the changes made from week to week can make a HUGE difference.

I think Renault will be back in contention next year. Also, BMW Sauber should be closer to Ferrari and McLaren next year too.

It is odd but the teams make changes to their cars for improvement and development and sometimes it doesn't work out right, like Renault.

But then, every team is now using Bridgestone tyres. McLaren and Renault are using it for the first time and it is odd that McLaren is doing so well while Renault are doing badly. It is possible that McLaren used the stolen Ferrari data to their advantage while Renault are just getting used to the tyres now.

Alonso knows about the data and it is entirely possible that McLaren are so competitive so quickly when they have to adapt to different tyres. McLaren have definitely benefited by knowing the data!

as others pointed out this happens quite often in F1. Renault at the end of last season made various noises about the crippling costs of running F1 team, so they might have scaled down a bit and it immediately shows - you can look at the gap between the big guys and say Red Bull...

Also, I suspect Stepney has gone bonkers only after he didnt get Ross Brawn job during his sabbatical so it is unlikely he would have damaged his chances so much last year when he believed he will get it.

As for cheating in F1, I agree there is probably more happening than meats the eye and it is a sad thing that it is ruled by cashflow so much it ceased to be a sport and is just a business- the last saga is just the tip of an iceberg. Shame that it should destroy it - as I think it will eventually happen unless we get rid of the old guard (mosley and ecclestone), sweep the house clean and start afresh.

i like all 3 of them! the two McLaren and Ferrari have a super type of historic previous with 2 incredible drivers, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. And Renault is remarkable, being a low funds team, Renault including Fernando Alonso controlled to take 2 championships. i desire they're aggressive this season.

I'd have to say that these things are quite normal in F1.

In 2004, the Ferraris were untouchable, 2005, a win was a dream for a Ferrari. In 1998, Williams was off the pace so drastically after dominating the last two seasons. The fast Renault of 95 world championship faded in 1996, it was a slaughter by the Williams pair.

All these should have been suspicious, right?

Renault has had a lot more problems adjusting from Michelin to Bridgestone tires. Ferarri and the other teams that used Bridgestone last year are at a slight advantage this year because they have data compiled from last year on tire wear. But since this probably was the exact data that was illegally shared with McLaren, it hasn't effected their team.

You do have a point there however this does happen all the time in F1 so this will all change next year :)