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Mike Coughlan:
We had a successful winter test and are continuing to look at all the
data we gathered. Following this, we have some further aero tests
planned for Friday with both drivers in Australia. The results so far
have been interesting and so we’ll make our final decision on Friday
evening as to what we will run over the weekend. In either case, we feel
we have two strong aero packages, each with their own benefits, and so
the nature of the circuit and temperatures we find will dictate which
package we choose.
Melbourne is a high power sensitivity circuit, more so than
Spa-Francorchamps which is quite surprising. Ambient temperatures can be
very high, fuel consumption is high and there is increased brake wear.
The ambient temperatures in Jerez and Barcelona are very different to
what we expect to find in Australia, so we’ll be looking very closely at
tyre degradation during practice on Friday. Overall, we are very much
looking forward to the start of the season as we have confidence in the
FW35.
Pastor Maldonado:
We have been working extremely hard over the winter to improve the
performance of the car and we have noticed good potential in the recent
tests in Barcelona. I’ve been involved with the FW35 build since the
start of the project in early 2012, working with the engineers, design
office and the technicians in the wind tunnel to push for improvements
on all fronts. Obviously we don’t know what other teams have done and
you can only learn so much during testing, but we expect to be more
competitive than last year. I like street circuits so I always enjoy
coming to Australia and now I just want to start the season and find out
where we stand.
Valtteri Bottas:
We have had a good winter at the factory and the car showed strong
reliability and performance during testing. The FW35 feels like a new
car in comparison to the FW34, behaving and responding differently
around the track to the car I was driving on Friday mornings last year
and I’m impressed with the improvements the team have made. The winter
has seen me preparing hard for the demands of driving a full race which
I haven’t done before in Formula One. However, I’ve always done a lot of
fitness training and have driven a lot of miles over the past few years
with the team, so I’m feeling fully prepared. The first Grand Prix of my
career is a big thing for me and I can’t wait for the lights to go out
in Melbourne and see how the FW35 performs against the competition.
Rémi Taffin, Head of Renault Sport F1 Track Operations:
We are looking forward to this season, the final year of the V8. With no
evolution of the engine regulations we have been able to fully focus on
optimizing our existing systems and achieving zero faults. Albert Park
is a tough place to start the season as it represents a hard challenge
for engines. The average speed is towards the top of the table, while
the percentage of the lap spent at full throttle is also one of the
highest of the season. The short bursts of power between corners put the
internals under intense pressure, while greatly increasing fuel
consumption; in fact the fuel consumption per 100km is the second
highest of the year.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli Motorsport Director:
We’re bringing the P Zero White medium tyres and P Zero Red Supersoft to
Australia: the first time that we have nominated this particular
combination for Melbourne. We’ve deliberately gone for a more extreme
tyre choice than last year that delivers extra performance, but this
should still result in between two and three pit stops per car: our
target for the year. There was quite a lot of degradation in testing,
but this will be reduced once we get to the warmer conditions of
Melbourne, where the tyres should be operating within their intended
working range. Albert Park is a temporary venue, so we would expect to
find a very slippery and ‘green’ surface when we arrive, but the grip
level will improve considerably once the track begins to rubber in over
the course of the weekend.
Race Data
Friday:
Practice 1: 12:30 - 14:00
Practice 2: 16:30 - 18:00
Saturday:
Practice 3: 14:00 - 15:00
Qualifying: 17:00 – 18:00
Sunday: Race: 17:00
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