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“At the moment the aero team is working on the package that will go on the car for the first race in Bahrain,” explains Technical Director James Allison. “We’ve already defined the geometries we will use for the launch car, but the wind tunnel work for race one will continue well into the New Year, especially for the parts that can be made at the last minute.”

Like most areas of the factory, the wind tunnel is working at full capacity at the moment. There are just 92 days until the first race and 52 days until the first test session in Valencia - deadlines that are ingrained on the minds of everyone in the factory.

“December is right up there as one of the busiest times of the year,” confirms James. “While the racing wing of the company is taking a short breather after a long, hard season, all the other departments in the company are close to peak load. In the New Year the workload will lift another notch as the car build begins and the full team prepares for the intense period of pre-season testing.”

The main task at the moment is making all those new parts ready for the car-build phase, which begins in early January. And once the car is built, there will be the first fire-up – the symbolic moment when the new car gives its first cry.

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So if renault are now working on the bahrain spec, the launch/testing spec must be signed off and in production. The seasons getting closer!