Renault drivers looking forward to Monza

Fernando Alonso heads to Monza with 24 points advantage over Kimi Raikkonen in the drivers championship. Renault has only 9 points advantage over his rival McLaren in the constructors championship.Fernando Alonso is sure that if they finish every race, they'll be ok.

Although McLaren was very competitive in Turkey, Alonso isn't very worried.
Fernando Alonso "McLaren are very quick, there's no doubt, but Monza is a completely different circuit to any other, so we approach it feeling confident. We have had good straight-line speed all year, and that is one of the things you need there. So it could be a good race for us."

About driving at the circuit of Monza and the adaptation of the car for the Italian GP Alonso said:
"It is a legendary circuit, with an important place in the history of Formula 1, so to win there would be something special. You have the highest average speed in the championship, so it is a good feeling for the driver – I like the combination of speed and risk.
You need a very specific set-up there. The team builds new parts only for this race, because it is very strange from an aero point of view with very low downforce, and you need good grip in the corners from the mechanical balance and the tyres. Also,
the tyres can get cold on the straights which makes it hard to have good grip in the corners, but Michelin understand the challenge, and they have been fantastic so far this year."

Fernando Alonso also gave his opinion about the championship and his position. Alonso:
"It is the same as before Turkey – as long as we finish the races, we are OK. If we are competitive and can get on the podium, then it will be hard to lose my advantage. The advantage we have is that I can still afford some bad races and not lose the lead. McLaren have pressure to be perfect until China, and if they are not, we will be there to punish them."

Alonso's team mate Giancarlo Fisichella also had to tell something about the upcoming Grand Prix at Monza.
Fisico "It is my second home Grand Prix, and a very important weekend because a lot of fans come to cheer me on. I won there in F3, but have never been on the podium in F1, and I want to do it this year. I like the circuit, even though the speeds make it a little dangerous, but it is an impressive place to drive."

The executive director of engineering Pat Symonds explains why Renault has been testing
at Monza last week.
Symonds "It's a matter of safety. Monza is the place where we reach the highest speeds of the year, over 360 kph on the straights. The teams all develop specific packages for this race, and we need to test them to ensure driver safety for the race."

This means that if a team was to encounter problems in testing, they would still have time to react. It wouldn't be easy to improve poor aerodynamic performance, but solving reliability problems is a realistic goal. The drivers also need some laps to get used to a car that handles very differently to usual.
Symonds: "Generally, they come back to the pits with similar comments. They say the engine feels great, but there's no grip. That's because we run such low drag and low downforce."
About how to approach the circuit the executive director of Renault said:
"You need to approach it with aggression but also finesse. For example, the first chicane is a horrible corner for an F1 car: you need to throw the car across the kerbs. But the Lesmos, Ascaro and Parabolica need a deft touch so you don't lose too much speed by scrubbing the tyres, or being too aggressive."

Last sunday, the 28th of August, Renault was in Russia's capital city for the Renault Roadshow. Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella were also in Moscow to make some laps in the citycenter with their R24.