Eric Boullier says gamble from last year paid off, Vitaly Petrov performed in R31– Formula 1
Renault’s team boss, Eric Boullier, cited the situation from last year, where they started the development of their 2011 car, and stated that the gamble has paid off. Talking about Vitaly Petrov who did very well in the Australian Grand Prix this year, Boullier
said that the decision of keeping the Russian after an average 2010 season has also paid off.
Petrov had a miserable 2010 season where he only managed 29 points with his best finish of 5th position in the Hungarian Grand Prix. In the 2011 season, Petrov earned his first podium finish in the Australian Grand Prix when he was able to hold
off Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and finished third, behind McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.
Boullier looked pretty impressed by the Rookie driver and said, “He [Petrov] had a couple of very nice races last year, very promising, but also a lot of mistakes as well. I put a lot of pressure on him and we spent a lot of time discussing things.” Boullier
further added that Petrov is becoming a senior driver in quite early stages of his career.
Renault team started the development of their 2011 car, R31, half way through the 2010 season. They came up with a highly innovative and effective exhaust system which was later copied by the McLaren team. Talking about the car Boullier said, “I am proud,
happy and relieved. We gambled very early last year on innovation on our car.”
Renault team went through a rough patch when their star driver, Robert Kubica, had a crash and was ruled out of the 2011 season. The Renault team booked Nick Heidfeld as Kubica’s replacement for at least six months. Heidfeld was unable to put on a show in
the Australian Grand Prix as he started the race in 17th spot and finished 12th.
The speculations about the Renault team, after the exclusion of Kubica, were that they will not be able to fight for the championship. Boullier also feared that at the start of the season, but now feels very confident that they can win some more titles.
The next Grand Prix will start in less than two weeks and Heidfeld along with Petrov will strive to be in the top ten as they are regarded as one of the more experienced teams in the sport.
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