Boullier: “Start preparing for 2011”

If the season of Formula 1 ended Sunday evening, the players in the discipline quickly refocused to turn towards the 2011 season. Indeed, the tests for young drivers, Tuesday and Wednesday, placed all the teams in the context of the preparation of the next season.

« This session is used by teams to begin preparing for the 2011 season, confirms Eric Boullier, team manager of Renault F1. We had already brought some 2011 parts, in order to run them in real conditions and test reliability. It also allows us to evaluate young talents for the future, to know if we will look at how some will develop, and perhaps even pre-sign them. »

Two drivers drove for Renault during the rookie tests, starting with Mikhail Aleshin, rewarded for this test with his Formula Renault 3.5 Series title. “ He behaved rather very well for his first day of driving in F1, comments Eric Boullier. He is FR 3.5 Series champion, he?s a young Russian driver? This is also the irony of history (Vitaly Petrov, starter this season, also being Russian, editor's note). He has adapted quite well. As is often the case with young drivers, they encounter physics problems quite quickly. It is still, as a car to drive, extremely demanding. »

Jérôme d?Ambrosio, driver under contract with Gravity Sport Management, managed by Eric Boullier, also drove for Renault F1, logically. “ He is someone I have known for several years, explains the French. I followed him with particular interest, I saw him grow. This week, I was able to see it in real conditions. He was able to communicate well with the engineers, he was able to provide them with very good feedback. Engineers who had a certain preconception were positively and favorably impressed. On the track, he impressed everyone because he was seven tenths off the Red Bull de Ricciardo, who is a very talented driver, who already rode last year. Jérôme bet his Renault not very far from the Red Bull so it?s very promising. »

For Eric Boullier, who looks after young drivers via Gravity Sport Management, these two days of testing are important in the careers of some. “ Its very important. They have few opportunities to ride so it's a good way for them to express themselves, to show that they exist and that they know how to go fast. »