With four races in the bag, Renault R.S.17 returns to the scene of its track debut, the test mecca that is the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, venue for the Spanish Grand Prix. Chassis Technical Director Nick Chester gives his insight.
What’s the outlook for the Spanish Grand Prix?
The outlook is pretty good. We’ve been qualifying well so far this season, then Sochi showed a useful improvement to our race pace. We’ve still got a few more upgrades on the aerodynamic package for Spain, so we’re reasonably positive.
What’s the challenge of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya?
Even though we know it really well from all the testing we do there, it is quite a tough circuit. It’s very much a downforce track with a lot of high and medium speed corners. There you need the aero package really working for you.
It’s also a location that’s hard on tyres because the corners are so quick with their loadings. It’s tough for both the front and rear, meaning that keeping tyre temperatures under control is a challenge, especially in the last part of the lap where the rear tyres can overheat.
How different is the practice programme when it’s a venue so well known to teams?
We know the track well with these cars having tested there in the pre-season so basic set-up, ride height and those elements are more finalised when you head out for FP1. We still have all the tyre and aero assessments we want to run, so we certainly will be busy enough.
Will Sergey Sirotkin get a proper run in the car this time?
That’s most certainly the plan. Sergey’s issue in Sochi was related to a gearbox shift valve and it was a big shame for him to get so little running. He’s in Jolyon Palmer’s car for FP1, and we expect he’ll do a good job.
What was the content of the post-Russian Grand Prix debrief?
The upgrades we used in Sochi worked as expected so we made a useful step in our race pace whilst maintaining qualifying pace. There’s still more to do in this area, but we’re heading in the right direction. We’re in the midfield fight where we expected to be, but it’s a very close battle here so we need to ensure we seize every advantage possible from the car and how we use it.
Any new bits for the car?
We have new barge boards and an updated rear wing. We need to keep adding performance to the car as that’s what everyone else is fighting to do. We’ve started the season on a positive note so we need to maintain and improve this.
Gooooood morning everyone! We’re on our way to @Circuitcat_eng, it’s #SpanishGP week and we’re starting the day with a new poster! pic.twitter.com/eun2oEKg4k
— Renault Sport F1 (@RenaultSportF1) 10 May 2017
