Canada Preview Quotes: Renault

Jarno Trulli

Q. What do you think of the atmosphere at Montreal?

JT:

I have to say the Canadian Grand Prix is one of my favourites. I like driving on this track and above all I love the way the circuit flows. Beyond the technical and sporting aspects, though, I think the atmosphere you get in Montreal both at the track and in town is great. Since the Canadian Grand Prix is normally held in June, the weather is usually nice and you can make the most of the long evenings to walk around the town and have a drink with friends in one of the bars, and basically just relax after a hard day on the circuit. Every time I get there, I'm glad to be back!

Q. After a series of European Grands Prix, the championship has taken us far away to North America. Do you plan any specific physical preparation?

JT:

As for every Grand Prix away from Europe, there are two things you have to take into consideration, the first of which is the time difference. For Canada, I manage to adapt to the different time quite well. I prefer to get here a few days early so I can slowly adjust my body clock to the host country. As for physical preparation, we have done a 3-day mountain bike session in England. At this time of year, Canada always has mild weather that's not too hot or cold. It's ideal for drivers, because we don't have to endure intense heat during the race.

Fernando Alonso

Q. Last week, for the first time since the start of the season, you and your teammate Jarno Trulli took part in a private test session on a circuit. What was the agenda for these two days?

FA:

That's right, the team's testing calendar was changed because of the Heathrow Agreement. Since the start of the season, Allan has taken care of the testing. For the session at Silverstone, it was Jarno and myself who took part. Actually, the Silverstone tests were basically used to prepare for the British Grand Prix. We carried out the tyre and aerodynamic testing for this race, and we tested new engine set-ups we'll be using. So it was quite a busy session for both of us!

Q. You've said before that you don't like street circuits, so what's your approach going into the Canadian Grand Prix?

FA:

It's true that Montreal is a temporary circuit, but it has features I like a lot, and most of the track is laid out like a permanent circuit. I'm looking forward to this race: I feel calm but, at the same time, determined. I'm lying in third place in the drivers' championship and I'll do all it takes to stay there or do better. It's likely to be a tough weekend because the track doesn't really suit our chassis and our engine, but I'm confident I'll do well.

Allan McNish, Test driver

Q. The Canadian Grand Prix marks the halfway point of the season. How would you sum up the effect the Heathrow Agreement has had on the Team's testing?

AM:

I'd say that after seven Grands Prix, it has had a very positive effect. For each race, and especially the more 'exotic' Grands Prix, we've been able to get the most out of our extra two hours, and gather data that's given us a real advantage over the competition. Signing up to the Heathrow Agreement has meant we're limited to 20 days of testing during the year, though this hasn't stopped us carrying on with our development programme as planned. At this point in the year the balance is definitely in favour of the Heathrow Agreement. Friday's private testing almost always follows the same schedule, which is decided according to the characteristics of the circuit. We do lots of tyre testing to fine-tune or improve Sunday's tyre choice, but that doesn't stop changes being made to the schedule, like in Spain and Austria, where I concentrated primarily on aerodynamic work.

Q. What characteristics does a driver need to do well on this circuit?

AM:

For me, the Montreal track is a lot like Monza. You get very slow turns linking up with fast straights, so you need a car with stable braking, good traction and a pretty powerful engine.

Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director:

Q. Did the new aerodynamics package you used at Monaco meet your expectations? Are you intending to use this again in Canada, or another type of package?

MG:

Yes, the aerodynamic package we used at the Monaco Grand Prix met our expectations and proved very effective. That said, Canada requires a lower level of downforce, so the car will have a different package.

Q. What characteristics will the R23 need to perform well on this circuit? And given the qualities of the car, how competitive do you think the R23 will be?

MG:

I'd say Montreal is a 'stop-start' track that's very heavy on the brakes, and one where you need a lot of grip and all round balance. To race here you need an engine with the right amount of power, and a fairly low level of downforce. We need to take off downforce so the car can reach the high speeds on the straights, but not so much as to penalise ourselves in the corners. Montreal has a lot in common with Imola, where we were not very competitive, so we're expecting the same on this circuit. But we should be able to find a good aerodynamic set up that'll allow us to fight with our immediate rivals. It'll be harder to get on the podium here than elsewhere, but we nevertheless think we'll have what it takes to get a good result.

Q. You were testing last week at Silverstone. What was on the agenda?

MG:

Unfortunately, the poor weather conditions at Silverstone meant we could only complete one day of running. This unforeseen change in the programme forced us to focus our work on the Thursday. We concentrated on tyre testing ahead of the next two Grands Prix, plus worked on set-ups for the British Grand Prix. On the whole, despite the surprises, the team made good progress and the data we gathered will be very useful when it comes to making the finishing touches to our preparations for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering

Q. From Monaco we head to another street circuit, only Montreal is a lot faster. What areas of the car are under the most stress at this track?

PS:

Montreal is a street circuit, like Monaco, which means we'll be racing on a very dirty track, but that's where the similarities between the two circuits end. In fact, Monaco is very slow and very narrow, whereas Montreal is much more open with long straights for which you need very little down-force. But in terms of what's required of the cars, there are some similarities. You need a car with good braking, good traction and good balance in order to tackle the little slow turns that are a feature of the track.

Q. How would you sum up the weekend at Monaco?

PS:

Monaco was disappointing for us, even though both our cars finished in the points. At the end of the weekend we found ourselves in a position which basically didn't match our expectations. The reasons behind this 'failure' are quite complex. The Williams and McLarens were more competitive than our cars, so we need to work hard to make up the ground and Montreal isn't going to make the task any easier. You have to accelerate hard out of the chicanes, and despite the improvements we made in Austria, this is still an area where we have work to do.

Q. Last year the manufacturers were using much softer tyres on this circuit. What will be your choice for this year, and what influence do the tyres have on the car's overall performance?

PS:

Montreal is a pretty easy circuit in terms of tyre choice. Most of the work required of the tyres is under acceleration, so you need to fit tyres that are stable at the front and which can support the stresses caused by the hard acceleration. Also, in most of the chicanes the drivers have to watch the power in the middle then accelerate fast in the second section, which means the wheels alone aren't enough to get the car around, and instead the driver has to steer the car on the throttle. In the end, we'll be using a similar type of tyre in Canada as we used in Monaco.