Italy 2017 - GP Preview - Renault F1

Cyril Abiteboul

The Italian Grand Prix caps the end of the European segment of the Formula 1 calendar as we begin to switch our attention to Asia in the early autumn months.

Monza is a legendary circuit with an electric atmosphere to match and it seems to be a fitting way to end what has been an exciting summer of racing on some of Europe’s finest circuits.

Previous to Monza, we enjoyed a successful weekend in Belgium and made a return to the points courtesy of Nico’s sixth place; his third of the season. Nico had a really strong and sensible race and did a lot right to get the team a number of points.

We are, however, left with a taste of frustration as we couldn’t put Jolyon into the top ten. He had the pace in qualifying to be on course for a career best grid position but a gearbox issue forced him to start from fourteenth which meant Sunday would be difficult. We once again saw the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo on the podium for the sixth time this season which has included a win. The retirement of Max Verstappen and the enormous disappointment that followed lead us to react as early as Monza and the introduction of new components to improve reliability.

But remaining on the positives and we have scored more points at the last three Grands Prix than the four teams above us in the Constructors’ Championship. We have managed 16 points since Great Britain in July with Force India on (14), Haas (6), Toro Rosso (7) and Williams (5). The latest updates have all worked as they should to help us increase performance and put us in the top ten on a regular basis.

Monza is one of the most demanding races on the engine due to its frequent and prolonged high speed straights and curves; it really is the Temple of Speed! We have to approach the weekend with a sense of caution as we know the remaining races after this weekend should be more favourable for us. It will be about seeing how we go about this to get the most out of the car. Our aim remains to get both cars in the points to keep gaining ground on the teams above us.

It will be an exciting weekend for everyone involved in Italy; the fans, the drivers and all the racing staff. We head there with momentum on our side and we look forward to getting out to Monza.

Bob Bell

Technical Officer Bob Bell explains the balance between 2018 and 2017 car development as the R.S.17 heads for its thirteenth outing of the season in Italy.

What’s the outlook for Monza?

Monza is a high-speed, low downforce track, the lowest we run on throughout the season. We can go there with a reasonable amount of confidence having shown in Spa, a high power track, that we can compete. We have a couple of new aero refinements with the aerodynamics packages and wing settings tailored for the low downforce demands with a low-downforce and minimal drag optimised package.

How do you sum up the performances in recent weeks?

We can take heart with the step forward we have made across Britain, Hungary and Spa and I think it bodes well for the rest of the season. There aren’t too many surprises left with the circuits we’re going to and we have the capacity to keep development going for the rest of the year. We just have to get both drivers home scoring points.

Have you discovered the problem with Jolyon’s gearbox?

Everything points to it being a one-off as opposed to anything endemic. We will address it for Monza and ensure it doesn’t occur again. Reliability is still a priority and we must ensure that Monza is a trouble free weekend. Pace is where we hoped it would be at this point in the season but reliability still needs to improve.

It was disappointing for Jolyon. His pace at the start of the weekend was a great confidence boost for him and I’m sure had he not had that problem he would have qualified seventh or eighth on the grid.

We’re closing in on the final stretch of the calendar, is there much to report with development?

We are already working on the 2018 car but some elements developed in the wind tunnel can be used on the R.S.17. We are continuing the development of this year’s car. We have the capability to do a good job in balancing the development of the 2018 car and transferring the concepts onto this year’s, so it’s a busy time in Enstone!

Nico Hülkenberg

Nico Hülkenberg fired his way to a third sixth position of the season in Spa as he lines up more points on the high-speed and historic Monza circuit.

What do you make of Monza?

It’s a very unique place; incredibly special and holds a lot of history. In terms of the actual track, it’s a high-speed layout which means a low downforce configuration for the car, to favour top speed. Having such low downforce becomes uncomfortable sometimes as the car feels light and quite floaty, which can be a bit of a struggle. Monza features a lot of hard braking zones and boasts some legendary corner combinations such as the Lesmos and the Parabolica. You can really feel the history, which is something I enjoy.

And what about the Italian atmosphere?

Italy has a really good buzz, and that gets even better during the Grand Prix weekend in Monza. It’s a really special atmosphere. I love the whole park and area surrounding the track too. I like my food and, of course, eating a good pizza is mandatory during the weekend! The Italian lifestyle is really cool there and you can feel their passion around town.

What’s the summary from Spa?

It was a good and successful end to quite a tricky weekend. We struggled a little bit on Friday and Saturday as we made changes to find the right setup and balance for my car. On race day I was much happier as once again we’ve shown we are the fourth quickest team, it’s looking very positive. Once we get the balance and harmony where we want it to be the results seem to follow. The team have been doing a great job, it’s more points in the pocket for us which is satisfying. It’s important now to keep the momentum going, rack up the points and close the gap to our competitors.

Jolyon Palmer

Jolyon Palmer is ready to tackle the famous Monza circuit after a disappointing weekend in Belgium which promised so much.

What do you particularly like about Monza?

It’s a very special track, and one I absolutely love. It’s one of those races which carries so much history, especially when you think of all the great races and all the great drivers who have won there. The crowd carry so much passion – you can hear the fans when you drive round. The track itself is very old school and enjoyable to drive. We take off a lot of downforce so parts are flat out and there can be a lot of overtaking.

What are your results around Monza throughout your career?

I won and took pole in GP2 plus I’ve won twice in F2, so it’s been a good one for me. I think it’s actually one of my best tracks. Things didn’t quite go to plan there last year but hopefully I can do better this year.

What do you think it takes to do well at Monza?

Monza has some long, fast straights so naturally you need good straight-line speed and then stability under braking. Combined with the speedy straights there are some very slow corners so you need to balance out the low downforce with the need to be late and hard on the brakes. It’s all about finding a good top speed, with the optimum downforce level for the chicanes.

How do you reflect on Spa?

It was a positive weekend with the car again looking competitive. If I had started seventh then I would have been in a position to score points, but down in fourteenth on the grid was hard. It’s positive, though, and I’m happy with the first race back, it would have been nice to get points but it has been a better weekend than in previous weeks. We need the same again in the next few races; it will happen, I just need to shake off the bad luck. Things are looking much better.