Renault says goodbye to Toso.
One of the men credited with Renault's rise to the front of the Formula One world has departed Enstone, as the regie confirms the departure of aero ace Dino Toso after eight largely successful years together.
Having joined Renault from Jordan - where he was a race engineer on Damon Hill's car as the team took its first grand prix win - in 2000, the Italian rose to the post of director of aerodynamic technology and was instrumental in building one of the sport's most successful aerodynamics departments, which he led since 2003.
One of the men credited with Renault's rise to the front of the Formula One world has departed Enstone, as the regie confirms the departure of aero ace Dino Toso after eight largely successful years together.
Having joined Renault from Jordan - where he was a race engineer on Damon Hill's car as the team took its first grand prix win - in 2000, the Italian rose to the post of director of aerodynamic technology and was instrumental in building one of the sport's most successful aerodynamics departments, which he led since 2003.
In that time, Renault won two world titles with Fernando Alonso and never finished lower than third in the world championship. One of his last contributions to the Anglo-French team's campaign was the revised aerodynamic package which appeared in Barcelona and helped Alonso to qualify on the front row for his home race.
The team hopes that further refinement of the changes, in what is proving to be a tough season for Renault, should allow the R28 to run with leading teams Ferrari, BMW and McLaren before the end of the year.
The official reason given for Toso's 'sad' departure was the pursuit of new challenges within the sport, although it is widely known that the larger-than-life Italian has not enjoyed the best of health in recent years, having been diagnosed with cancer in 2004.
"I would like to thank Flavio Briatore and Bob Bell for their professional and personal support throughout my time with the Renault F1 team, during which we have enjoyed great success together," Toso commented.
"My passion for motorsport has always centred on innovative aerodynamics, and been motivated by a thirst for competition. I'm looking forward to tackling new challenges that will allow me to fully express my technical creativity in the years ahead, and take me back to what I love most - the thrill of competition."
Toso's responsibilities for leading the aerodynamics department have been taken over by Dirk de Beer.
Toso joined Renault in 2000 after working for Jordan Grand Prix. While at Jordan he played a part in Damon Hill's 1998 win at Spa working as Hill's race engineer.
