Fuente: © Renault F1 Team (English)
http://www.renaultf1.com/

FORMULA 1 - RENAULT: Transcript Chat British GP

/noticias.info/ As promised, here is the transcript of the pre-Bristish Grand Prix chat from Tuesday 8th July. Don’t forget that you can find the transcripts directly on the following page : http://my.ing-renaultf1.com/en/chat.
The next chat will take place on Tuesday 22th July to review the German Grand Prix.

RF1 Paddock Pass: Hey guys, thanks for being with us once again for our now traditional post GP chat!

Everyone says hello…

RF1 Paddock Pass: So what did you lot think of the British Grand Prix?

Cirebox: wet!

RF1 Paddock Pass: Absolutely – that’s an understatement.

Altagot: Shame for Nelson. He deserved better than that!

RF1 Paddock Pass: Yes, that’s for sure…but there was nothing that he could do as the track was flooded. Several other drivers also made mistakes, except that they were able to keep going…it’s a shame because up until then we were having a great race.

Tchess23: Excellent RF1PP, a wonderful race by all those involved. Renault will do better next time ;))

Fabdu62: We saw that Renault continues to improve, which is great news…

RF1 Paddock Pass: Yes, we are improving, we can feel it, and we need to build on that and realise our potential.

Fabdu62: Nelson will fight back. I know that he comes back strong even when he gets criticised. I am happy that he will be with us.

Cirebox: I felt that it was a bit of a lottery…everyone either had the luck or no luck at all.

RF1 Paddock Pass: Let’s say that the weather made things a bit more complicated!

Fernando’s decision to stay on the same tyres at his first stop certainly costs us some more points…but at the moment we stopped and based on the information we had available, it was the best decision. Raikkonen and others took the same decision.

Tchses23: Whenever it rains, it comes down to luck, nothing more…

Mirage: When we consider the times of Barrichello etc do you have regrets that we missed a podium?

RF1 Paddock Pass: Yes, but at the end of the race Fernando was really struggling and he could not find the pace he had shown earlier. We must understand exactly happened. Why he was struggling on his tyres.

I’m just saying that it's a shame we didn't score more points.

Nelson did a great job. But he couldn't control the car and finally lost it, but it is difficult to blame him.

For Fernando, he did suffer a lot with his tyres, especially at the end of the race, but we saw how fast he can be in the wet!

hah: thanks RF1PP...

Cirebox: What gave me the most pleasure was to see Nelson running so well before his retirement, and Fernando was superb (he must have been one of only 2 or 3 who did not make any mistakes.)

RF1 Paddock Pass: That’s right - there can’t have been many who did not do some gardening in the Silverstone run-off. Massa must have green fingers by now. He doesn’t seem to keen on the rain.

Mirage: looking at Fernando’s straight-line speed, I suppose that he had a rain set-up. Why did he not take the full wet when he made his second stop on lap 26?

RF1 Paddock Pass: Because we thought that the rain shower was only going to last a few minutes. That is what most of the team’s did, only BOU, BAR and BUT went onto the full wet.

And we know that when the track is drying, the full wets don’t last long and can quickly deteriorate, and so we took the decision not to use them, despite the appalling conditions.

When you play, sometimes you lose. Things played out nicely for Barrichello. But you can take these sorts of risks when you have nothing to lose and when you are at the back of the field anyway. It’s a much harder call when you are running in 4th…

Mirage: thanks RF1PP

Cirebox: Generally we saw the class of Hamilton, the luck of Barrichello and the ridiculous with Massa! ;-)

Fabdu62: According to Remi Taffin, the R28 is five tenths behind the leaders, can you confirm this?

RF1 Paddock Pass: You should believe Remi…he knows what he’s talking about, and in the team, when we communicate, we usually give the same information Fabdu62…...

Cirebox: What is the drivers’ moral and mindset like after this result? I hope it will not impact on their confidence?

RF1 Paddock Pass: Nelson was very disappointed, even though he could do nothing. The other leading drivers also made mistakes at the same time – he did not have a chance…It’s sure that another good result would have given him a boost.

Fernando was also disappointed but remained very positive after the race. It’s important to score points and that’s what he did….we must keep doing that.

Yop: I noticed that Renault is the only leading team which has not scored a podium this season. Is this the weak point in our battle for fourth place?

RF1 Paddock Pass: The battle is incredibly competitive. We have just passed the half way point of the season and we are making progress…everything is still to play for. We keep our objective to fight back in the championship and to try and get on the podium before the end of the season. And we are preparing for some races were we could spring a surprise because our two drivers are very comfortable on the upcoming circuits, such as Budapest and Spa…Now it is down to us to give them a car that matches their talents. That’s why we are continuing to work hard at the factory to improve our package.

Zelos: Still aiming for the top step of the podium I hope…

RF1 Paddock Pass: You never know what can happen…This is what we have to aim for, even though, being realistic, we know that is not really possible, especially not in normal race conditions.

Tchess23: I have confidence in you to give them the car of their dreams…

Yop: Thanks RF1PP

Fabdu62: For the last 4 or 5 races, we have nearly been on the podium, and we have missed out more due to bad luck than anything else.

RF1 Paddock Pass: It’s all very well saying that it’s down to luck, but you must also know the cause of it! We must work even harder to make sure that the luck is on our side.

Fabdu62: What developments will be on the R28 in Germany, without giving away too many details, of course…

RF1 Paddock Pass: This week we have been testing for three days in Hockenheim with Nelson and Fernando.

Nelson ran on Tuesday, Fernando on Wednesday and Thursday. We worked on the set-up of the car, the aero balance and the brakes.

It’s a difficult circuit in that regard, so we test there to be as prepared as possible.

Fabdu62: Can you tell us a bit about the 2009 rules and the R29 – where are we in terms of its development?

RF1 Paddock Pass: It’s still a bit early Fabdu62…all in good time…we already have plenty to be doing with the R28…

Yop: No new aerodynamics then?

RF1 Paddock Pass: There are always some small new things.

Tchess23: How come you have such a strange colour scheme?

RF1 Paddock Pass: “strange”…there is nothing strange about it… We make the specific choices for the colours by considering the requirements for tv, photos, sunny conditions, rainy days etc…. The colours chosen have to be in accordance with the teams charter and especially that of our partners.

Zelos: Let’s talk about GP2 and the exceptional return of Lucas Di Grassi. Having missed the first few races, he is already fourth in the championship in front of Grosjean. Was the team not a bit disappointed for Romain?

RF1 Paddock Pass: We are happy for Lucas! It’s a shame for Romain but we know that he will bounce back.

Hah: RF1PP can you tell us what you expect from the R28 in Hockenheim.

RF1 Paddock Pass: We know that the R28 still needs to improve in some areas (traction, braking stability) but we are working on track this week, in Hockenheim, to try to be as ready as possible for next week...

Top: Thinking about Romain in 2009, would it be preferable for him to do a further season in GP2 or progress directly to Formula 1?

RF1 Paddock Pass: We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Let him finish this year in GP2 first…

Hah: Great and thanks RF1PP :)

Yop: There weren’t many questions this evening…

RF1 Paddock Pass: Yes, few questions…but you can look forward to the next chat which will take place after Hockenheim, at 13:00 (French time).

Mirage: merci RF1PP… and good luck to our two drivers…

Tchess23: Thanks RF1PP, good evening and continue fighting hard!!

Everyone says goodbye

RF1 Paddock Pass: Thank you for having been with us again today! Next chat on the 22nd! notas_de_prensa_archivo