F1: Alan Permane says Podium at Valencia was within Renault’s Grasp
Pundits have unanimously hailed Robert Kubica’s fifth place exploit in Valencia at the recent European Grand Prix as a respectably commendable outcome for Renault. However, the French giants feel convinced the end result in Spain could have been considerably more heartening for the squad, had it not been the untimely intervention of a safety car in the aftermath of Red Bull’s Mark Webber’s extraordinary mishap. Kubica thrived in his battle with Jenson Button and Mark Webber in the opening breaths of the race, but fell to a disadvantage later on after losing time in the pits when the safety car emerged. Although the Pole’s solid performance clinched 10 meaningful points for the team, there yet persists an air of disappointment at the Formula One Renault headquarters.
In a post-contest interview, Renault’s principal race engineer, Alan Permane asserted that although there was satisfaction over Kubica’s smooth run, his squad had been expecting a slightly better payoff in Valencia. Permane bemoaned that the safety car had intervened at an inopportune moment for Renault, ultimately condemning Kubica to a fifth place behind McLaren’s Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello of Williams. However, Renault were the not the only ones to fall foul of the repercussions affected by the Red Bull’s spectacular journey into the skies. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was also found fuming over the complications that resulted from Mark Webber’s misadventure which undeniably added considerable spice to this year’s Spanish saga. Nevertheless, the Renault engineer expressed his relief over the squad’s prompt response to the safety vehicle deployment- a move that helped Kubica salvage a lead over Ferrari duo Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa to maintain his fifth spot after pausing at the pit stops.
Now that the year’s campaign has hit the mid-season mark, Renault are contented at having moved nine points closer to Mercedes, the rival immediately ahead of the French giants on the championship rankings sheet. Permane said that although the French squad would face a tough battle matching the acumen of the RB6 Red Bull make, they were within reaching distance of the pace showcased by McLaren and Ferrari this season. He also emphasised that despite managing only an unspectacular 14th spot at the European Grand Prix, Kubica’s teammate Vitaly Petrov, was crucial to the team’s progress. Petrov originally ended 12th in the run, but fell to 14th after landing a five second reprise for breaching the speed limit rules that had come into play following the emergence of the security vehicle. The Renault engineer endeavoured to put the Russian protagonist’s performance into perspective by highlighting Petrov’s assuring qualifying displays and mooting the dearth of overtaking opportunities at the Valencia street circuit.
The conclusion of the race saw the Renault catalysts, along with 8 other drivers, come under the scrutinizing gaze of race stewards for superseding the prescribed pace on their in-laps in the midst of a safety vehicle prowl. Both Kubica and Petrov were each handed a five-second disadvantage. While Permane acknowledged that Petrov’s fine made sense, for the Russian did step out rather swiftly, the Renault head engineer argued he was at a loss to understand why Kubica had to be penalised for an offense he could not possibly have avoided within his set of circumstances.
Alan Permane elaborated that the substantial enhancements introduced to the R30 Renault vehicle prior to the Valencia event had paid off just as the team had hoped. Permane was particularly happy with the results affected by modifications to the R30 front wing and floor. The head engineer explained that the undertakings would bear greater fruit in the near future as the team would have more time to adapt itself to the developments that had been wrought only a short while before the European Grand Prix had got underway. In fact, the technician felt that R30’s improved features were likely to prove especially advantageous in the face of Silverstone’s numerous high-velocity turns- a circuit the team expects to frequent at the British Grand Prix within a few weeks time.
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