Nick Heidfeld: Renault good to be third fastest car behind Red Bull and McLaren – Formula 1 news
German driver Nick Heidfeld has said that Renault’s 2011 car R31 can be the third fastest car of the 2011 Formula 1 season behind Red Bull and McLaren.
Heidfeld added that Ferrari are giving some hard time to them but Renault has got the better of them on two occasions. He added that Mercedes have made some progress with their car but are still way behind to threaten them.
The German further said that Renault are the one landing on the podiums behind Red Bull and McLaren.
He stated, “I think we have a good chance to be the third-quickest car. We have been on the podium - Ferrari hasn’t - and when it comes to raw pace we are fighting with Ferrari, with only Red Bull and McLaren in front.”
He said that the Renault team lost their footing in the Chinese Grand Prix which was disappointing for them.
Out of the two podiums that Renault have scored so far, young Russian Vitaly Petrov was the first to claim a third place in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Talking about Petrov’s performance in the first race, Heidfeld said, “I think he has made some good improvements and I would assume that he is as good as the team hoped he would be. That is very important for the team because if you want to fight for the
constructors’ championship you need two guys to score.”
The German has now contested in more than 170 races and has not won even a single one yet. He scored a third place podium in the Malaysian Grand Prix but was still not satisfied with his performance. He said that he is targeting a drivers’ championship in
2011 and would not be happy with even a second place finish.
Nevertheless, Heidfeld will get his chances in the 2011 season because along with Ferrari and Mercedes’ below par performance, Pirelli tyres will help him snatch a victory or two against Red Bull and McLaren. Let’s see if he manages to do that.
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