Renault aims for the Top 4

Eric Boullier, director of the Renault F1 Team, hopes that his team will be able to compete among the top four teams at the start of the season, although he admits it is very difficult to make predictions.

« It was very difficult to understand and unravel the details of the winter tests and to find our comparison with the other teams because we do not know the approach they have taken », said Boullier before this season’s opening weekend for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

« We made the decision to run with heavy fuel in every test session, thinking it was the best way to understand and improve the car. »

« In terms of pure performance, I hope we are close to the four best teams », added the Frenchman, the new team leader after Flavio Briatore’s departure.

The Polish driver, Robert Kubica, agreed that it was very difficult to say if the car will be competitive, but he thinks that the French team is working in the right direction.

« It is difficult to judge the performance, but we are heading in the right direction. We haven’t yet run with all our new updates, and an aerodynamic evolution for Bahrain is planned, which we hope will match the wind tunnel predictions and help improve performance, » explains Robert Kubica.

« Overall, it seems that the best teams are quite close, but some have definitely hidden their full potential during the winter tests with many developments planned for Bahrain. So far, I think Ferrari and Mercedes seem very strong. »

His teammate Vitaly Petrov, a rookie in Formula 1 starting this weekend, admitted that he was looking forward to racing.

« People ask me if I feel nervous, but I am used to racing and I know what I have to do »,” said Vitaly Petrov.

« Of course, things are different in F1 as I still have to learn and understand the car but also learn how to work with the team. But I feel good and I can’t wait any longer, » he continued.