Austria 2019 - GP preview - Renault F1

Nick Chester

After finishing the race with both cars inside the points in France the team’s focus immediately turns to the hills of Austria. Chassis Technical Director Nick Chester outlines the main challenges of Spielberg and offers his verdict on the team’s home race last weekend.

What stands out about Spielberg?

The circuit is situated at around 700m altitude, so in comparison to recent races, it’s a bit harder on both the brakes and the engine. It’s the shortest lap of the year at around 64 seconds but, despite its length, it’s a tricky place to get right. It’s very power sensitive with three fairly long straights and therefore a big proportion of the lap is spent at full throttle. There is one slow speed corner but the rest are medium to high-speed and finding the right balance is a challenge.

Like last year, tyres will be a focus point in Austria. There was blistering in France, and Spielberg is a harder circuit for tyre management. It looks like it will be very hot this weekend, which could bring on blistering. We’ll be watching out for that during our long runs on Friday. The circuit also has some big kerbs too and those can certainly disturb the car.

How does the team reflect on its home race in France?

All in all, it was a mixed weekend. We struggled a little on Friday but then found some improvements ahead of qualifying although we didn’t qualify as well as we’d like. Our race pace was good on both cars and Nico’s points were well deserved with a very good drive from thirteenth to eighth.

How did the upgrades fare in France, and will they be used again this weekend?

It takes a bit of time to learn about new parts. They were broadly positive and we’ll run them again in Austria. Back to back races are always a challenge and the car will largely be what we ran in France. 

Nico Hülkenberg

Nico Hülkenberg enjoyed a solid Sunday in France for his eighth-place finish. Now, he wants to back that up in Austria in the hills of Spielberg for the first double-header of the 2019 Formula 1 season.

What are your thoughts on Austria?

Austria is a very warm and welcoming event hosted with a nice, chilled out atmosphere. It’s quite close to the German border, so there are usually a number of German fans who make the trip to come and support and that’s really great to see. The circuit is quite surreal as it’s in the middle of nowhere with lots of hills, empty fields and a lot of cows! It’s picturesque, a nice scene for a Formula 1 race and it freshens up this busy period of racing.

How tricky is a lap of Spielberg?

The lap times are so short in Austria with just nine corners to negotiate, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy place to drive. It’s quite the opposite. It’s technical, it has elevation changes, there’s a mix of medium to high-speed corners and also big kerbs to watch out for, especially the final two corners. We have some things to assess on Friday, but as ever we’ll be looking to get our heads down and progress ourselves through Friday, Saturday and Sunday and target a solid result at the end.

Are you pleased with the French Grand Prix result?

We can be happy with our recovery on race day, and it’s always nice to be scoring points. It does highlight the importance of qualifying and therefore track position. We were stuck in traffic for a lot of the race and I had more in the tank on Sunday, which might have allowed us to be higher in the top ten. The last couple of laps were a lot of fun with some good wheel-to-wheel racing. Hopefully in Austria there will be more of that and we’ll be coming out somewhere near the top end of the midfield!

Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo’s seventh-place finish in France was taken away from him after the flag. But the Australian won’t let that get him down as he heads for Austria aiming for an immediate response at a short, but intense Spielberg circuit.

What’s there to say about the Austrian Grand Prix?

On a map, Spielberg looks a short lap but it’s actually incredibly hectic. While it is short, there are some challenging corners and lots to get right. The middle and last sectors, in particular, are really fast. The final two corners are a lot of fun, especially in these current carsthere’s little room for error. The race is usually quite full on too and concentration has to be high. You can’t afford to make errors on a lap in Spielberg as even a small mistake costs a huge chunk of your lap time as it’s all very close. I’m also looking forward to tucking in to one of my favourite dishes of the year too, Wiener Schnitzel. Bon appetit!

How do you feel post-French Grand Prix?

Firstly, it was great to experience the team’s home race. There was a lot to do away from the car and a lot of people to meet, but on a whole it was fun. I think our seventh-place finish at the flag was a fair result in terms of pace. The team deserved double points, that’s for sure. It’s clearly disappointing to lose six points, but it’s racing and there are rules. It doesn’t take away from the fact the battle between Lando, Kimi and Nico was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it, we’ll take something away from that and move on. Austria is the next challenge and we’re all determined to bounce back and score some strong points.