Formula One news
Renault on the up, says Symonds
18 August 2009Pat Symonds is confident that the Renault team can achieve strong results in the seven remaining races of the season as Romain Grosjean steps in to join Fernando Alonso. The latter achieved his and the team's first pole position of the season in Hungary last time out to indicate that the pace of the R29 continues to improve.
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| Pat Symonds is optimistic over the remainder of the 2009 season |
After a strong qualifying result, the Hungarian Grand Prix turned into a disaster for Renault as, not only did Alonso retire due to a loose wheel, but the car jettisoned the object in a way which governing body the FIA believed should result in the team being suspended from this weekend's European Grand Prix; with an appeal proving successful on Monday, however, Symonds is confident that the Enstone-made cars can return with confidence.
"We wanted to show the potential of the car and confirm the step forward we had made in Germany and I think, to an extent, we managed to do that," said the team's executive director of engineering. "It was great to get pole position but it doesn't necessarily mean that you've got the fastest car and, fuel-corrected, it's true that the Red Bulls were faster.
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| With Nelson Piquet out, Romain Grosjean will join Renault's race team in Valencia |
"We can certainly push a lot more developments onto the R29 in the final part of the season and there is another big aero update for later in the year. We're also preparing the specific medium and low downforce configurations that are needed for Spa and Monza. How much more we do after that will depend how next year's car, the R30, is progressing and whether we can transfer what we learn from that onto the current car."
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| The team's last win came at Fuji Speedway last year |
What are Pat's opinions on the team's newest race driver? "I think Romain has a great racing ability and we've seen that demonstrated many times in GP2," Symonds explained. "He's certainly one of the best in the series at overtaking and with the reverse grids he has shown that he's good at fighting his way through the field. It will take him a while to settle into Formula One but I'm sure that he will adapt well."
The principal issue facing rookie Grosjean is undoubtedly his lack of mileage in the team's car due to 2009 regulations. "In the past he would have done lots of testing miles but that's not the way of modern Formula One, with the ban on in-season testing," Symonds added. "However, he has done several aero tests already this year and has spent a lot of time with the team at races, attending briefings and debriefings to learn the way we work and the personalities of the team."
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