Hungarian GP 2006: Monday Morning Debrief
Thrills, spills, politics, passion – oh, and a sensational
motor race with a debut Grand Prix winner. Has anybody ever
seen a better Hungarian Grand Prix?!
When is a non-finish still a finish?
After scoring three points in his debut Grand Prix, Robert
Kubica was left pole-axed on Sunday evening by his disqualification
after his car was found to be underweight. The result had
consequences for the championship as well, because it moved
Felipe Massa up to seventh – and Michael Schumacher
to eighth in spite of his late retirement. As a result, Fernando
Alonso's lead in the drivers' championship stands at ten points,
and Renault's constructors' lead at seven points. It is the
final twist in a rollercoaster weekend, but what does it alter
for Renault?
"It doesn't change anything at all for us," explained
Executive Director of Engineering Pat Symonds. "The end
result in terms of the points difference is minimal. The pleasure
of yesterday's race for the team was that we were able to
dominate in all conditions, and that the Renault was the best
car out there. Equally, we feel very, very confident that
in a dry race, the car would have been extremely competitive,
and I am convinced we would have beaten Ferrari. In spite
of scoring zero points, that's a very encouraging situation
for the next races."
Fernando Alonso was similarly upbeat after his first non-finish
since Canada 2005, and his first race out of the points since
Hungary last year. "I think this is the most competitive
Renault has been all season," commented the World Championship
leader. "So when you are in that situation, it's tough
to retire because we should have scored some big points on
Sunday. But it was a great race, I passed 14 cars in the first
twenty laps and really enjoyed myself out there. And when
you look at the big picture, we may have had a problem but
the performance showed that Renault is up there fighting,
and Michelin are doing a great job as well. We can be very
confident as we head to Turkey."
When a non-finish is definitely a non-finish
Fernando Alonso retired from the Hungarian Grand Prix on
lap 52, immediately following his second and final pit-stop
of the race where dry tyres were fitted to his car. As he
left the pit-lane, it was evident there was a problem at the
right rear, which firstly put him into a spin at turn 1 then
ended his race at turn 2. What's more, TV footage showed the
wheel nut part company with the axle before Fernando spun.
Initial investigations suggested an axle problem had been
at fault, but detailed inspection of the damaged parts showed
the cause lay elsewhere.
"There is a safety mechanism holding the wheel-nut on,
and it did not disengage at the second pit-stop," continues
Pat Symonds. "That meant the wheel nut was damaged as
it was removed, and did not re-attach correctly as the new
wheel went on. The reassuring fact is that this is a simple
problem to fix, and doesn't put the exceptional reliability
of the R26 in any doubt. We will have a modified solution
in place for Turkey."
Three week break? What break?!
The next three weeks offer welcome respite for the drivers,
race teams and test teams alike (plus occupants of the media
centre!), but don't think that because some of us are on holiday
that the work is stopping back at the factories. After all,
there's a championship to be won! The dynos are still running
flat out preparing developments for the RS26 engine, while
at Enstone, the wind tunnel is running 24 hours a day churning
out new developments. And as with many aero parts, they don't
need the approval stamp of track testing before going on the
car – which means the R26 will benefit from a further
package in Turkey.
"We have got another strong package of aero updates
coming for Turkey," concluded Symonds. "There was
a big update in Hockenheim, which started to show its worth
this weekend, and much more is coming. It's a real tribute
to the people back at Enstone and Viry, that the rate of development
has been so competitive this year. We said before Germany
that the balance of power often swings back and forth in August,
and we saw a perfect example of it last weekend in Hungary.
We want to make sure we keep the advantage in Istanbul, and
every member of the Renault team is pushing very hard to make
it happen."
|
