Renault is on the right track according to Bob Bell

Since the new Renault R29 was unveiled last January, the tests have never gone smoothly. The weather conditions, combined with reliability and performance issues of the new diamond-shaped single-seater, have drawn criticism from the press.

Yesterday, during the last day of testing in Jerez, Alonso reassured everyone by placing the R29 just two-tenths behind the MP4-24 of Lewis Hamilton, the fastest of the 2009 model cars.

« It’s still very early, but I’m starting to be increasingly satisfied with the car’s performance. Of course, the Portimao tests were disappointing because we only had one rainless day, and even though the car ran well from a reliability standpoint, we still had many questions to answer regarding performance. It’s true that in the first tests we didn’t make a good impression, but we had simply brought out the car with its interim chassis so that we could accumulate mileage, evaluate reliability, and then run the KERS system. »

« Our objective was not to be competitive in Portugal but to learn from this new generation of single-seaters. Since then, we have made quite a few adjustments during the Jerez tests, and I think we have made good progress. Overall, I am positive about what we have seen so far. » continues the Englishman.

Regarding the drivers, they seem satisfied: « They have been very positive, and the biggest surprise for them was perhaps the KERS. We thought it would be difficult for the drivers to adapt to it, but it went well. In terms of basic characteristics, the dry weather in Jerez this week really helped us with setup and evaluation of new parts, and then Alonso and Piquet seem satisfied with the car’s performance. »

Bob Bell also admits he doesn’t know where to place Renault compared to the current field: « What matters is the performance compared to the other teams but it’s difficult to make a judgment at this stage because they all have different testing programs, intermediate chassis, and different fuel levels. I think we’ll have a clearer overall vision maybe during the last winter tests, it’s hard to say for now. But considering what I’ve seen this week in Jerez, I don’t see any problems with the car: it’s well balanced and responds well to changes. Like everyone, we lack a bit of grip but that will improve when we have new parts and continue to work on our development program until the dawn of the first race of the season. »

« With the new regulations this year, all the teams have gone off to do their developments, so it will not be surprising to see as many solutions as there are teams. For the moment, I haven’t seen anything from our competitors that would suggest we are headed in the wrong direction. »

Take the KERS, I think the team has done a tremendous job in developing the system by primarily testing it on the bench and operating it without major issues on the car. I believe it’s fair to say that all teams are struggling with the fact that there is less testing this year, but I don’t think we are suffering more than the others. Yes, we have done fewer kilometers, but we finished a good weekend of testing at Jerez and completed good long runs on Thursday and Friday without problems, so at this stage, I am not overly worried.

Renault wants to reassure its fans and has announced a program change. The team will not be in Barcelona next week for testing and instead prefers to focus on testing in mid-March, a week before the first Grand Prix, in Melbourne.

« We had initially planned to be in Barcelona next week, but when we started our winter testing program we realized that it would be better for us to have a testing session in mid-March. It is true that from a logistical point of view it is a bit more complicated because the car will have to arrive in Melbourne the following week, but we save development time and we will be able to test new parts on the car just before Melbourne. I think it’s a good solution that will be worth it. »