The Renault F1 Team preview of the 2006 Chinese GP.
Fernando Alonso: "Our motivation is
greater than ever"
Fernando, there has been a lot of talk about pressure
in recent weeks. How are you feeling ahead of the final races
of the season?
FA: I have the opinion that stress is not useful. We have
to do our job, and I must do 100% with the team. If we do
that job well and we deserve the title, then we will win.
The important thing in the next races is to give the maximum
to the team.
You last won a race three months ago in Canada. Is
that a worry?
FA: We always knew that it would be very tight at the end
of the championship, and I was prepared for this. At Renault
we were ready for the opening races, and totally competitive:
maybe we started at 95% of our maximum, while the others were
at 70%. Now, everybody is at 98% or 99% and the performance
is very, very close. We know we have the performance to win
races, and we need to make it happen.
What is the motivation like in the team?
FA: Well, we have been leading all year, and we want to finish
in the same position! Honestly, I think the motivation is
greater than ever. These are the last three races for me with
this fantastic Renault team, and also the last races for Michelin
in this era of Formula 1. So our motivation to win is enormous,
and I think we can do it.
How do you view the Shanghai circuit?
FA: It's one of the circuits that I enjoy. I have fantastic
memories from last year, when we won the constructors' championship
there. It has been designed to give overtaking opportunities,
especially at the end of the long back straight, and that
helps make the races spectacular. I think we can expect an
exciting race.
And what outcome to you expect?
FA: We have been saying all year that you cannot predict what
will happen on track, with the competition being so close.
Instead, we are focused on our objectives, and that means
qualifying at the front and winning the race. That will be
the target.
Giancarlo Fisichella: "China is a fantastic
race"
Giancarlo, you had a strong drive to fourth place
from ninth on the grid in Monza. How optimistic are you about
the performance of the R26 at the moment?
GF: The car's competitiveness was very good in Monza and the
one-stop strategy worked well for us. Michelin have done a
fantastic job as well, and they have found some very good
developments for the tyres. I think the overall situation
is looking very positive at the moment.
Renault now lies second in the constructors' championship,
just behind Ferrari. Does that change your strategy?
GF: I don't think so. This has been a very tough championship
all the way through the year, and it will go down to Brazil.
Ferrari is a strong competitor, but we have clear targets
for these races. I am trying to get third in the drivers'
championship, Fernando wants to win, and for both those things,
we have to beat the Ferraris. If we can do that, then the
Constructors' Championship will be ours. We will be pushing
all the way to the end of the season, just as we planned.
Is China a circuit you enjoy?
GF: The Chinese Grand Prix is a fantastic race. The circuit
is amazing, one of the best in the world with a challenging
layout and incredible facilities. The people are friendly
as well, very enthusiastic about Formula 1, and we always
get a big crowd on Sunday for the race. This is a really good
Grand Prix.
Finally, how do you expect the R26 to perform?
I think this will be a good circuit for the R26. You have
to work hard to find a good balance, because the car has to
be good under heavy braking but also stable for the quick
corners, so you have to tune the aero and mechanical balance
carefully. We were very quick there last year, with Fernando
winning and I was 4th even with a drive-through penalty. I
believe we can be very competitive in Shanghai.
Pat Symonds: "We know where we stand,
and we're confident"
Pat, the question on everybody's lips ahead of this
race is whether Shanghai will be a ‘Renault track' or
a ‘Ferrari track'. What is your opinion?
PS: As always, performance has to be looked at in relative
terms. Shanghai is a good circuit for Renault, and we had
a fabulous race there in 2005 when we dominated the Grand
Prix and won the constructors' championship. But what may
be more significant is that Michael Schumacher had two poor
races there in 2004 and 2005. That trend could continue this
year.
Renault is now second in the Constructors' Championship
to Ferrari. Would you say the team is on the back foot?
PS: I don't think so. The team has had a tough month: we threw
away a win in Hungary, and events transpired against us in
Monza. But had Fernando started from his correct grid position
in Italy, we know he would have been fighting for the race
win. Some people seem to think Renault is a spent force in
this championship. That is far from the case.
But surely the momentum is with Ferrari at the moment?
PS: In some senses, I think it is true. We learned last year
that momentum and psychological advantage are important, when
we struck a decisive blow with our run of wins at the start
of the championship. But the other thing I remember is the
team's response to losing the lead of the constructors' championship
in Brazil. Losing the lead merely redoubled our resolve to
get it back, and we did so in style. That was probably the
most satisfying aspect of last season, and the attitude now
is "OK, let's do it again"'. This team has the virtue
of being very honest with itself. We know where we stand in
terms of performance, and we are feeling confident.
The team experienced a turbulent weekend in Monza.
What impact will it have on this weekend's race?
PS: It is a completely closed chapter. I think you have to
be fatalistic when evaluating these things. The fact is that
Fernando's engine failed, and cost us the points. Had he been
leading or in P22, that failure would have happened at the
same point of the race. Our focus has been on fixing that
problem, and getting on with the job. The events of the weekend
were unfortunate, but made no difference to the final result.
So we have to draw a line under it, and start again.
That engine failure was the team's first in 2006.
What has been done to ensure it doesn't recur?
PS: We have identified the weakness that caused the failure,
and taken preventive measures. The engines we will run in
China represent a performance gain over the units from Monza,
both in terms of power and driveability.
It has often been said that 2006 has been a ‘tyre
championship'. Michelin seemed to have made big gains in Monza.
Has this been reflected in testing since then?
PS: They have continued to move forward, yes. We are very
happy with our preparations for the final three races, and
we have made progress on both the compounds and constructions.
We found some very interesting improvements in Jerez and at
Silverstone last week, and Michelin are pushing hard.
With both championships so delicately poised, how
much is the team under pressure?
PS: There is plenty of pressure, and there's no point denying
it. We do not have any margin for error in these three races,
but that also makes our job a lot simpler. The only option
is to race aggressively. Second places are no good at this
stage of the season. And the same is true for Ferrari.
You have worked with both championship contenders.
Can you separate Fernando and Michael on any level?
PS: It goes without saying that they are both fabulous drivers
and formidable competitors, but I truly do believe that Fernando
handles pressure better than Michael. Throughout his career,
there have been many instances of Michael not performing to
his potential when he has been under pressure. And I think
the pressure for him is greater than ever in these last three
races. Previously, he always had the safety net of trying
again next year, if he didn't win. There is no ‘next
year' for him now…
Both championships are in the balance with three
races remaining; in many ways, it's a dream scenario for fans
of the sport. How would you describe the mood in the team
at the moment?
PS: I think it is determined, optimistic and excited. We have
a very clear target that we are working towards, but we will
be out there to enjoy these final races, and to go for it.
It has been a classic Formula 1 season, and it is going down
to the wire with a classic battle. It is great to be part
of that.
Tech file: Shanghai
China is one of the modern breed of Formula 1 circuits and
offers some unique challenges to the teams and drivers. Although
it does not feature much elevation change, there is a wide
variety of challenging corners – from slow hairpins
to high speed sweepers, and some extremely tricky sections.
As is generally the case with the most modern circuits, it
is also very wide, which can make it difficult for the drivers
to find the right line. The facilities are excellent, and
provide the teams with the best possible conditions in which
to approach the race weekend.
Chassis
Tyres: In general terms, Shanghai is a tough
circuit for the tyres. Not only are the front tyres heavily
loaded by corners such as turn 1 (left front), 7 (right front)
and 8 (left front), but the numerous slow corners mean the
rear tyres are worked hard under traction, accelerating away.
Turn 13 also deserves a special mention, where the front left
tyre is heavily loaded through this 270° corner, all the
while accelerating and putting high lateral and longitudinal
loads through the rear tyres. It is always a difficult challenge
to find the optimum solution in terms of tyre choice for this
circuit.
Aerodynamics: As with many modern circuits,
Shanghai includes a mixture of high-speed corners and long
straights which means the level of aerodynamic downforce has
to be judged very carefully to protect position on the straights,
without compromising grip in the corners. Just as in Bahrain
and Hockenheim, aero efficiency comes to the fore, and ideal
levels of downforce are sometimes compromised in favour of
straightline speed to avoid being overtaken in race conditions.
The engineers will pay careful attention to the cars' relative
straightline speed during practice in order to choose the
optimum aero level for qualifying and the race.
Suspension: In mechanical terms, it will
be important to find the correct compromise that gives the
driver confidence in the car's handling over the full race
distance. Shanghai is a circuit that features a lot of braking
from high speed, some fast corners and plenty of acceleration
phases. Combined with a number of changes of direction at
both high and low speed, it means we will generally run a
stiffer, more reactive set-up at the front of the car –
and then make the springing softer at the rear, for optimum
traction and braking stability. In particular, we concentrate
on making the car stable under heavy braking and on partial
throttle openings, as the driver is often having to turn and
brake/accelerate simultaneously, for examples in turns 1&2
or turn 8.
Engine
Power: The less powerful engines, combined
with stickier tyres, mean that the engines spend a higher
percentage of every lap at full throttle than they did in
2005. However, the impact of this change is lower than average
in Shanghai – owing to the fact that the circuit includes
a large number of slower corners, and relatively few high
speed turns at high throttle openings. For the 2006 season,
the average increase in the time spent at full throttle has
been of the order of 17%, whereas at Shanghai it will be only
11%, meaning a total of 61% of the lap is spent at maximum
throttle.
Cooling: This extra time spent at full throttle
also demands increased cooling, as the engine is rejecting
more heat proportionally than the V10. However, with ambient
temperatures in Shanghai expected to be in the mid to high
20s, this will not pose any problems given that the team has
already negotiated the demands of the hot European summer
without any problems.
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