Renault seeks more progress on starts

The team's drivers made sensational starts in the Malaysian Grand Prix last weekend, with Nick Heidfeld jumping from six on the grid to second by the first corner.

Petrov said Renault will try some new things to make even more progress this weekend, although he admitted the shorter distance to the first corner will not help the team's cause.

"I think the team has done a good job," Petrov said in China on Thursday. "We are always trying to find good clutch positions to make a good start, and we try every weekend.

"This weekend we also have something we need to try and maybe we can improve. The pity here is that it's not a long straight."

The team has enjoyed a strong start to the season, having scored podiums in the first two races.

Petrov reckons it is vital that Renault keeps its focus and continues to score strongly all year long.

"We will try to continue like that but we know it's not easy," he said. "We just need to stay focused and try to take maximum points. The season is long, and in some races we'll have a good result and in others we will not have the same, so we need to score points all the time."

Team owner Gerard Lopez told Gazzetta dello Sport that a big part of the merit was on the drivers.

"We know we have a good system, but it's mostly down to the drivers: the start is surely Petrov's strong point and Heidfeld already started well in Australia where he immediately made up six or seven positions from 18th on the grid. At Sepang they were both excellent."