Austria Preview Quotes: Renault

Jarno Trulli

Q. What driving abilities are essential on this circuit?

JT:

Seen from the cockpit, Zeltweg is not a very complicated circuit: there is a series of three bends on the inner section of the course while the rest of the track is a sequence of accelerations and pretty hard braking. No, you wouldn't say that it is a circuit that demands any extra-special driving skills.

Q. Do you especially like this track? Is there anything about it which motivates you?

JT:

Personally, I like all the tracks: I enjoy driving no matter what the circuit. Zeltweg is a track which is often dirty and slippery, and the grip isn't always great. Despite this, I feel very at ease on this circuit and I've always managed to be very quick in the past, so I hope it will be the case this year. I do particularly like the setting, and it's a real pleasure to drive through its spectacular surroundings.

Fernando Alonso

Q. Fernando, it must have been particularly special for you to put in such a strong performance at Barcelona in front of your home crowd: after this excellent result last weekend, what do you think the future holds in store?

FA:

I am feeling very good and confident for the future: with every race, I get to know the team and the car a bit better. At my sixth race driving for Renault I feel I have learnt a lot as a driver. Today, I feel stronger when I come up against other drivers: last year, even if I drove thousands of kilometres as the team test driver, I was always alone, so there was never any direct confrontation. These first few races have taught me a lot about pit-stops, the way tyre performance changes throughout the course of a race, and on how to manage your race. I think I am now becoming more and more capable of exploiting the car's potential.

Q. Do you know the A1-Ring well? Does it suit your driving style?

FA:

In my view, this is the most straightforward F1 circuit there is. There are only six bends and it is very short compared to the others, so the gaps are always very tight. I like the circuit but I wouldn't say that it is my absolute favourite. On this track, the driver's skills are not as essential as they are at Suzuka, for example. We come to Austria with some good results behind us and I think we can do well. Zeltweg suits my driving style okay, even if the contribution I have to make here is less challenging than usual.

Allan McNish, test driver

Q. Allan, in your view, what benefits will you get out of the private tests on the Friday on this circuit?

AM:

From the team's point of view, we actually don't have much past experience of this circuit, so having these extra two hours of tests, which will give us time to adapt the R23 to the circuit, gives us an important advantage over our rivals. Also, we are able to work on engine development, and those two hours on Friday morning will allow our engineers in Viry to work on fine-tuning the engine. As far as my personal plan for these tests is concerned, I'm going to concentrate on the development of the tyres with Michelin: We need to be sure the tyres we choose are the right ones in every respect.

Q. What does the car need to be competitive on this track?

AM:

First of all, the car needs a braking stability in the chassis and good horsepower. Most of the corners are quite slow, that's why it's so important to have a braking stability: at the same time you need a good traction on exit of the corners and a good speed in order to be able to overtake.

Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director

Q. What conclusions did you draw from the fantastic weekend's racing in Spain?

MG:

Throughout the whole weekend in Spain, our cars showed that they can be very competitive and this resulted in Fernando's excellent second place. However, Jarno's accident was a disappointment, however, as he was also in a position to finish in the points. Still, it's encouraging to see that we are capable of battling it out with the top teams and even making it onto the podium.

Q. What part of the car did you focus on in testing last week at the Paul Ricard circuit?

MG:

We worked closely with Michelin to get the tyres right for the upcoming races in Austria and Monaco. We also made some final adjustments to the engine version to be used at the Austrian Grand Prix. In terms of aerodynamics, we just did the normal work as we don't anticipate there being any major changes for this Grand Prix.

Q. The A1-Ring is a very different circuit from Barcelona, but do you think the R23 will be able to compete on this track? And what will the R23's strong points be in Austria?

MG:

The A1-Ring certainly is very different from the Spanish circuit: it features slower bends leading into straights where the cars are flat-out. This favours the cars with better engine performance over those with the best aerodynamics. It's going to be a difficult race as we have to expect that we are going to be less competitive than we were in Spain. Nevertheless, the engine development we have been working on should give us some additional horsepower to work with, enabling us to boost performance.

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering

Q. What role will tyres play in this race?

PS:

It is difficult to get the tyres right on this circuit: some parts of the track require very soft tyres while other sections cause heavy tyre wear, particularly under acceleration. Add to this the fact that the circuit is normally very dirty on the Friday, meaning that it's not easy to carry out any proper assessment of your tyre choice: this is why we will only make our final selection on Saturday just prior to qualifying.

Q. Is race strategy particularly decisive on this track?

PS:

There will be more interest in race strategy this year than before. We will choose the strategy which best suits our cars, whilst taking into account the fact that it is possible to overtake here, though only at two points on the circuit. This factor combined with the chosen tyre type will be decisive for our strategy.

Q. Do you plan to make any adjustments to the car for this circuit?

PS:

This circuit demands a very different setup from that used at Barcelona. We have to make do with less downforce. We will also be looking at getting the best possible traction out of the slow bends: our setup must factor in these two parameters.