(Bernard Asset - Renault Sport F1)
Renault Sport F1 head to Malaysia after what can be considered as a disappointing opening race for the their team's in Melbourne last weekend. Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel suffered a power unit issue that ended his race. His team mate Daniel Ricciardo finished the race in second place in the sister RB10 however was later disqualified from the race.
In their first race with Renault power Toro Rosso managed a double points finish which was a consolation for the French engine manufacturer as their teams struggled over the course of Winter testing. Jean Eric Vergne finished the race in 8th place to secure four points while on his Formula One debut Daniil Kvyat finished the race in 9th place becoming the youngest ever points scorer.
The Lotus F1 Team had a difficult day as both Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado retired from the race with identical Energy Recovery System failures. Neither Caterham drivers managed to finish the race as rookie Marcus Ericsson retired with an oil pressure problem while Kamui Kobayshi retired from the race following an accident.
Head of Track Operations at Renault Sport F1 Remi Taffin said: 'Sepang is one of those circuits whose technical requirements will change under the new regulations. In the V8 era the circuit sat towards the middle of the table for the challenge is posed for engines but now it will be one of the toughest races of the year'.
Speaking about the first race Taffin said: 'After a difficult race in Australia we are really looking forward to Malaysia. We had several issues across the cars in Melbourne but we have recreated the problems in the dyno at Viry. Most are fixed and the remaining will be under control by Firday in Sepang. While we anticipate further issues may occur we are much more able to react quickly to minimize their impact.
At last years event in Malaysia Renault had four of their cars finishing in the top ten with Red Bull Racing taking a controversial 1-2 finish with Romain Grosjaen and Kimi Raikkonen finishing the race in 6th and 7th respectively for the Lotus F1 Team.
Temperature control is going to be key this weekend due to heat in Malaysia and Renault have said that their focus will be on driveability in Sepang.
©Ben Johnston 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment