Having consequently overtaken
Toyota and gained ground on Williams in the constructors’ standings, RBR is finally beginning to bring home the results to match its undoubted pace.
“The Nürburgring was a fantastic result for the team,” confirmed Renault’s principal trackside engine support engineer Fabrice Lom. “At Magny-Cours and
Silverstone we endured two difficult races, but we knew the potential was in the car. Everybody worked very hard and, at the last race, we got the first rewards for that – not just a podium, but both cars in the points at the chequered flag. We scored ten points, the same number as
McLaren and more than
Ferrari or
BMW. More importantly, though, we scored ten more than Toyota and five more than
Williams. In terms of the championship, that made it a very successful weekend.
“The Hungaroring is a demanding circuit or the car, with lots of bumps, high kerbs and a lot of gear changes. From the engine’s point-of-view, though, the time spent at full throttle is below average, and there are no particularly severe challenges. The only thing we will have to pay special attention to is the cooling, as we are expecting extremely hot temperatures. We worked on a range of different cooling options and bodywork configurations during our test in
Jerez last week. While we are confident about the car’s cooling, we will nevertheless pay particularly special attention to this area.
“I think we should have a competitive package in Hungary. It is a twisty circuit, but one with few very slow corners; it is more about a series of medium-speed corners and our car seems pretty strong in this area, both in terms of braking and downforce levels at these speeds. If everything goes smoothly we should be capable of a competitive showing, but as always we need to wait for the opening sessions on Friday to get a better idea. We will certainly be working hard to secure a strong result.”
Williams – Nico Rosberg (#16), Alex Wurz (#17):
Williams are confident than a stronger showing than of late as the
Formula 1 circus rolls into Budapest this weekend, with a healthy record at the tight and twisty circuit including seven wins, six pole positions and nine fastest laps.
