New chassis for the R25

Enstone is a hive of activity at the moment, as the Renault F1 Team prepares for the final 3 races. To all intents and purposes, the build-up proper began this morning as the three R25 chassis destined to defend the team's fortunes in the final races of the season, left the factory bound for Brazil, then Japan and China. They were driven to Stansted airport, north-east of London, from where they will head to Sao Paulo.

Steve Nielsen, Sporting Manager “On Wednesday and Thursday, the mechanics completed assembly of the cars, and they reached the airport at 06:20 this morning. They were accompanied by 25,000 kg of air freight.”

On top of this load, the team must also add the engines and support material from Viry-Châtillon.
More then 50 personnel from Enstone will be flying to Brazil. They will then return to Europe before departing for the final two races of the season. As for the equipment, it won't be back until late October.

“The cars hadn’t been back to the factory since Istanbul. We had run the races in Turkey, Italy and Belgium without once coming back to base. The R25s were back here for barely 5 days after Spa, and now they are off again for another month!”

So, is tiredness beginning to set in at the end of a long season?
"A little. We have 19 races this season, whereas two years ago the championship had already finished! The number of races isn’t the problem, but you have to cram them into the same length of time. The break in August was very useful…! But we are still fighting for both championships, and that incentive means you can cope with the all-nighters. We are ready for the final challenge.”