Renault's aim is to finish second!

By role
June 30 2004

The Renault F1 team has the goal to finish second on the Constructor's Championship this year behind Ferrari. To achieve this they know they have to fight hard for podiums on the track and for reliability at the factory.

A key to the success of Renault this season has been the good reliability shown by the R24. However, a double failure at Canada and a puncture on Fernando's car at Indy while running 3rd have detracted the team's chances to score some valuable points.

However, the team was not expecting to do much better on the American races as neithe of the two tracks benefited them:

"By the time we reached Indy, I think it was as much about damage limitation as anything else. We were not expecting to be so competitive in Canada, but lost the opportunity to score a significant number of points. In Indy, we recovered well from a difficult start to the weekend to finish fourth with Jarno. But undoubtedly, with better reliability and - in Indianapolis - a little more pace, we could have continued to strengthen our championship position." Bob Bell, Renault's Technical Director, said.

The goal is to finish second on the championship and Bob Bell knows they must maintain the reliability:

"We are totally focused on maintaining second place in the championship. We must achieve consistent reliability again, and we certainly cannot afford to lose the opportunity of podium finishes. Obviously, there are circuits that we expect to run well at in the second half of the season, much as Monaco and Canada stood out in the first half, but we also have a programme of incremental performance gains planned. If we do not slip up, then I am convinced this team is capable of doing it. But make no mistake, it will be a close, tough battle." He added.

The battle will be a hard one and therefore Renault must include improvements at every race:

"For Magny-Cours and Silverstone, we will have a package of aerodynamic updates and we also intend to introduce suspension modifications at the French race." He added. "I think Magny-Cours will be a standard circuit for us - it is very much an average track in terms of the challenges it presents - and we go there with our usual expectation of challenging for podium positions. Its peculiar characteristics do reward an experienced and astute engineering team, which we undoubtedly have and of course, it is given added importance by the fact it is our home race. We will be keen to perform well there."