Renault chief engineer Alan Permane has admitted that Nelson Piquet's surprise podium in the German Grand Prix has boosted the team's chances of finishing inside the top four of the
Formula 1 constructors' championship.
Running on a one stop strategy and benefitting from the Safety Car period that occurred when
Timo Glock crashed out of the race, Piquet came through from 17th on the grid to find himself leading the race in the closing stages before conceding the lead to
Lewis Hamilton but still managed to secure the first podium finish for the team since
Heikki Kovalainen took second in the Japanese GP at Fuji last September.
However the result allowed Renault to move up to sixth in the constructors' championship, just two points behind fourth placed
Toyota, and Perrane said that fourth should now be a realistic aim if Piquet can maintain his Hockenheim form and join
Fernando Alonso in regularly fighting for points finishes.
"The podium in Germany has certainly helped because we are now only two points off this position," he said. "If we have the chance to score with two cars until the end of the season, we should be able to complete this mission without too much difficulty.
"It's a fantastic result that rewards the efforts of everyone in Enstone and Viry over the last few weeks. It's also a reward for all Nelson's hard work. Obviously we had some luck, but you have to make your own luck - without our decision to chose a one stop strategy, nothing like this would have happened."
Perrane added that the result would be a huge boost for the entire Renault team as it heads into this weeks group test at
Jerez and the upcoming Hungarian GP and paid particular credit to
F1 rookie Piquet for his podium performance.
"[The result is a boost] for sure, especially with new parts coming in Budapest," he said. "Then, after that, we will have a new aerodynamic package for Monza and a new front wing before Singapore, so we will continue to fight.
