Give 100% - Chevrier
The ING Renault F1 Team chief on-track engineer, Denis Chevrier, comments on the changes made to the sporting regulations for the 2007 season and the supply of the Renault V8 engine to the Red Bull Racing Team.
“The main change concerns the grand prix weekend. Friday is now considered a test day and the grand prix build-up will really begin on Saturday. Henceforth, the life-cycle of the engines will be four days for two grand prix weekends, and each V8 will cover fewer kilometres than in 2005 and 2006.”
Will Renault use all of Friday to prepare for the weekend?“Not entirely. As the number of private test days per car has been limited this season, we’re going to use Friday to implement an on-going technical agenda, and take advantage of this additional test day to spread out our development programme over the season.”
What will the supply to Red Bull change in terms of trackside exploitation?“In certain areas our relationship with Red Bull will be very open but in other cases it will be completely separate from our 100% Renault activity. We’ll be rivals out on the track. The only exception to this rule will occur when we have to react very quickly to an engine issue. Then there’ll be complete openness to make sure that the V8s are working in the best possible conditions.”
What will be the impact of the new homologation regulations on the work of the engineers?“It’s not really that big a change. At every grand prix the engineers have to take up the challenge to get the very best out of the overall package at their disposal. This hasn’t changed. The test team’s work will be different as there’ll be less experimental development to be carried out. Taking into account the reduction in the number of test days for 2007, part of the test workload will be completed during the grand prix weekend.”
If the trackside operations have changed for 2007, the main task is still the same: to be as competitive as possible. What are your hopes for this new season?“I think everybody’s expecting a very closely-fought championship with little difference between the teams. In this context the slightest little detail will have considerable importance and could play a crucial role in victory or defeat. It’ll also be very important to reach a good understanding with the drivers to give them the best possible package. When the overall level of competition is as high as this, everybody’s contribution matters and anything that can provide a performance gain must be taken into account. The whole team will have to give 100% to succeed in 2007.”
Source Renaultf1
