Eric Boullier has high expectations for Renault team in Malaysia
Lotus Renault Team Principal, Eric Boullier, has hoped that after having a successful Australian Grand Prix, the team will become more competitive at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
In Boullier’s opinion, his team will compete with the top three teams, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren, in 2011.
Vitaly Petrov’s performance in the opening Grand Prix was impressive, in which he was able to finish third, intersecting the famous Ferrari and Red Bull rivalry.
It was Petrov’s first podium finish in his twenty races, and it gave the Renault camp a much needed boost, after their premier driver, Robert Kubica, got seriously injured in a rally car accident before the season started.
Petrov was also able to finish ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, which was a big achievement for the Renault team, in terms of reliability and speed.
The team’s other driver, Nick Heidfeld, who replaced injured, Robert Kubica, was unable to put on a good show as he started the race in 18th position and ended 12th.
Boullier stated, “We were in a good position in Australia and I can see us continuing to fight with the big teams”.
Renault team’s performance in the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix was also impressive when Robert Kubica finished fourth.
Boullier shared his views about Sepang and said, “I remain fully confident the team can repeat the performance of last year. We proved in 2010 that we had the ability to develop the car at a very high level”.
Renault’s Technical Director, James Allison, said that a few upgrades will be taken to Malaysia, which will improve the cars performance by a tenth of a second. Allison stated that the upgrades include, redesigned front, and, rear wings, and, modifications
of aerodynamic capability.
The much awaited, Sepang race, will start from a Free Practice session on Friday.
Team Renault have a lot more to do to become a consistent competitor, as Ferrari drivers, Alonso, and, Felipe Massa, have already said that Petrov’s podium finish was a fluke and Ferrari will not give easy ground to him anymore.
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