Despite a poor start to the season
, Renault are confident that they will become more competitive at Magny-Cours. Renault have scored as many points in the last two races in Canada and America as third-placed BMW-Sauber. Engineering boss Pat Symonds believes that this trend is positive for his team.
“I think it is indicative of the fact the tide is turning,” Symonds explained. “We are very close to BMW now and racing them hard. Without a doubt, we have upped our game and pulled out of the midfield bunch we were in, to stand on top of it, and there is still more to come. We take a lot of comfort from the fact that after a poor start to the year, we are pulling it back so rapidly. Other teams are not having a great start to the season and not pulling it back as we are. There is plenty to be proud of in what we are doing.”
Since Fernando Alonso defected to rivals McLaren at the end of 2006, Renault have failed to secure a podium finish. Renault are currently fourth in the championship with 25 points, 14 points behind third place BMW-Sauber.
“As we better understand the problems we have been suffering from, we are able to improve the car,” Symonds continued. “There will be enhancements for France and Britain and that’s in addition to continuing to push with our normal development processes. There are a lot of new bits coming for the car and you can be certain we will keep on fighting.”
Meanwhile, there have been some changes in the Renault camp coinciding with their return. Aerodynamics chief Dino Toso has been promoted and now heads Renault’s new CFD centre at Enstone; Deputy technical director James Allison has now moved across to head the wind tunnel project.
