Renault Confident It Can Find More Race Pace

Renault CTO Bob Bell is confident that the F1 team can inject more race pace into its 2017 challenger.

With Nico Hulkenberg finishing in 12th and 9th in China and Bahrain respectively and his teammate Jolyon Palmer still unable to seize points for himself in the championship, it’s no secret that Renault has been hunting for a way to find the pace that it needs to really challenge the midfield in a more aggressive manner. The good news, however, is that Renault’s management is highly aware of the issue, and they’re banking on a string of upcoming upgrades to help boost them higher up the pecking order.

Renault’s Chief Technical Officer Bob Bell has commented on the state of the outfits race pace recently, saying that the team has a “reasonable idea” as to what is causing their lack of performance delivery – and that he expects such issues will be remedied soon:

“We need to find more pace on Sundays, we just lack race pace. We knew that going into the race.

We’ve got a reasonable view on where we’re losing and why it’s happening, so we’ve just got to deliver on the bits that will restore that. It’s a combination of tires and aero, and getting them to work under all circumstances.

We know what we need to do. What we haven’t been able to do is demonstrate it on track, deliver the bits to the track, and deliver on that upgrade. That’s the next step.” – Bob Bell

Bell went on to say that while there is a hefty amount that needs to be changed and tweaked on Renault’s car to ensure a more aggressive and competitive package, the fundamentals of their RS17 are solid:

“The basic pace of the car is there. You couldn’t put it where we put it in qualifying if it wasn’t.

What we don’t have is a flat operating envelope where we can get that same level of pace short run and long run, and that’s what our objective is.” – Bob Bell

Bell’s enthusiasm about the future of the cars is reassuring, as any change that Renault can bring to shake the midfield up more than it currently is will not only be a welcome change for the team, but for the sport itself.