Renault must raise its level of play

Friday will not remain as the best memory of Renault en F1, far from it... Certainly the R29 seems to give more satisfaction than in Australia, but there is still a way to go to close the gap with the rest of the competition. “The balance of the chassis is a little better than in Australia” relates Pat Symods. “We still need to improve the stability of the car when braking. We need to raise our level of play and improve our performance compared to Australia. Today's results show that we can achieve this,” he notes.

I have to say that Fernando Alonso, diminished by an ear infection, is not in the best form and provided the bare minimum today, with climatic conditions requiring perfect physical condition. “We didn't do many laps today because I didn't feel completely fit,” says the double Spanish World Champion. “It's a very trying weekend, it's very hot, we're sweating a lot and we had to limit our driving in order to collect only the essential information. I think these will be valuable and we can use them to improve the car settings for tomorrow. I hope I can recover a little this afternoon and night. The important thing is that I feel better tomorrow and that I can give 100% in qualifying, which promises to be the most important moment of the weekend. »

More diligent on the track, Nelson Piquet notes the clear improvement observed on board his car : “There is a lot of room for improvement, of course, but I am satisfied with the progress made between the first and second session. With the ambient temperature, the race will be difficult for both the organisms and the mechanics, but I'm looking forward to it. »

Renault is therefore preparing to survive in qualifying and then to continue with a waiting race, hoping that by Sunday, Fernando Alonso can return to 100% of his physical capabilities.