FR3.5 Series stars spend two days with Lotus Renault GP

No sooner had the dust settled on the Silverstone round of the World Series by Renault, than drivers from the Formula Renault 3.5 Series headed to Enstone for a two-day internship at Lotus Renault GP’s headquarters. The unique event was the product of a partnership between Eric Boullier’s Formula One team and Renault Sport Technologies, and was hailed as a great success by all of the drivers who attended. The programme included a visit to the factory, a marketing presentation, media training and physical and driver training sessions. It also featured meetings and discussions with various members of the team, including driver Bruno Senna. All of these activities combined to give the drivers a real taste of life behind the scenes of a Formula One team.

“Above all, you need to be convinced that you want to make the step up to Formula One, and be sure that you want to be a Formula One driver,” said Lotus Renault GP team principal and managing director Eric Boullier at the end of an intensive two days of training for the Formula Renault 3.5 Series drivers. “You should want it for the chance to become true professionals, and not for the glitz, the money or the celebrity lifestyle. If you make the commitment, you’ll find yourselves presented with opportunities that you’ll need to be able to seize.”

Once again, the drivers thoroughly enjoyed their chance to spend two days on the inside of a working Formula One team. They arrived in Enstone on Monday morning, fresh from a World Series by Renault weekend at Silverstone that had attracted 120,000 fans. First up for the drivers was a visit to the factory, where they were visibly impressed by the number of people involved in manufacturing and developing Lotus Renault GP’s two cars. The drivers then visited the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) centre at the team’s new 60% scale wind tunnel, as well as the assembly workshop and design office – all of which gave them an insight into the process of creating and operating a Formula One car.

“A Formula One driver has to do a lot more than just drive,” explained Patrice Ratti, Managing Director of Renault Sport Technologies. “A driver needs to have talent, but he also needs a certain amount of charisma, as well as natural leadership skills and the ability to attract sponsors. In addition, drivers need to know how to conduct themselves in the media spotlight, while keeping close bonds with the team around them. This is what we would like the Formula Renault 3.5 Series drivers to take away from this course.” Mr Ratti added: “We would like to give our warmest thanks to Lotus Renault GP and Eric Boullier for organising this course in Enstone. We are unique in offering our drivers this kind of activity, and their attention and involvement over the two-day course is a clear sign of their desire to reach the top.”

With this aim in mind, the drivers attended a presentation detailing everything a Formula One team expects from its drivers, with particular focus on the marketing aspect. After the presentation, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series stars took part in what proved to be a very informative media training session. On day two, the drivers performed a series of physical tests, before later attending a Hungarian Grand Prix debriefing. This was followed by a question and answer session with Lotus Renault GP strategist Mathieu Dubois and driver Bruno Senna. To round off the course, the drivers met with team principal Eric Boullier, who took the time to answer as many of their questions as possible.

“It’s the third year in a row that we’ve staged this training course,” said Emmanuel Esnault, Sporting Manager at Renault Sport Technologies. “As the years pass, more and more drivers show their interest in the course. Above all, it provides a great opportunity for them to acquire the key skills needed to fulfil their dream becoming Formula One drivers. It also helps create bonds between the drivers, who very rarely get the chance to spend time together outside of race weekends.”

The Formula Renault 3.5 Series enjoys close ties with Formula One. The next stage of the partnership will see a number of World Series by Renault drivers spend a day with Lotus Renault GP at the forthcoming Italian Grand Prix at Monza. And, like every year, the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion will take part in Formula One rookie testing. The lucky driver will take the wheel of the Lotus Renault GP R31 for the sessions, which are to be held at the Abu Dhabi circuit in November after the Formula One Grand Prix.