Renault F1
Chassis: Renault R30
Engine: Renault RS27 -2010
Drivers: Robert Kubica (11), Vitaly Petrov (12)

Renault has been on a downward spiral since the Crashgate scandal broke. Team boss and resident F1 paddock pimp Flavio Briatore is gone, Fernando Alonso moved to Ferrari, and Renault sold 75% of the team to Genii Capital. Testing did not fare any better, with the team failing to come close to the front runners, slotting them between Toro Rosso and the new teams of Virgin and Lotus. There were many updates to the car, most notably the W shaped rear wing, but it’s hard to tell if they have problems understanding and finding a proper setup, or if it just doesn’t work together. On a related note, Chinese driver Ho-Pin Tung signed on as a 3rd driver (he will be competing in GP2 as part of the deal), we may see for the first time a Chinese Formula One driver.

AT&T Williams
Chassis: Williams FW32
Engine: Cosworth CA2010
Drivers: Rubens Barrichello (9), Nico Hülkenberg (10)

Like McLaren, Williams toyed with the blown wing idea, but their shark fin does not have a feed for the rear wing slot. Replacing the Toyota powerplant with the new for 2010 Cosworth engine, the team fared well in week 4 testing, putting them on equal footing as the Saubers. There were rumors that the team will be running a flywheel-based KERS (technically legal this year but not used under the FOTA gentleman’s agreement), but there was no evidence of such a device. A flywheel based KERS system does not have the large cooling requirements of battery based systems, so it’s fesible that Williams could introduce such a system mid-season. Of course, that would cause a lot of drama and controversy within FOTA, and as seen last year, Williams has no problems with going against the group even though it risks losing their membership.