By GMM The espionage scandals had a tangible effect on the poor performance so far of Renault's 2008 car, according to a Spanish newspaper. Diario AS claims that the French outfit shelved an intended suspension innovation for the new single seater, which is now estimated as the seventh or eighth slowest in the field, because of the spying controversies of 2007.Following the furore surrounding the defection of a design engineer from McLaren, Renault bosses thought it wise to postpone its debut in 2008 pending the full clearance of the FIA.Fernando Alonso in Bahrain confirmed that an upcoming suspension development for Barcelona is "similar" to the so-called mass damper, which was banned a couple of years ago.Renault has reportedly argued to the governing body that while the McLaren engineer brought suspension drawings with him, they were barely legible and therefore cannot be linked with the team's own suspension development. AS quotes team boss Flavio Briatore as saying "certain cases" have delayed some aspects of the R28 design.Renault's Barcelona specification car was debuted last week at Elvington Airfield with test driver Lucas di Grassi at the wheel.Technical director Bob Bell commented: "To say we need to improve is a bit of an understatement -- we need a tidal wave of improvement to move us ahead."
F1: Spy scandals delayed Renault innovation