An encouraging return for the Renault Sport F1 Team
The Renault team reconnected with its history today in Melbourne by delivering a strong overall performance. Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen finished the race at the edge of the points, with the Englishman ahead of the Dane.
At the dawn of Renault’s ambitious new project, this Australian Grand Prix resembled a first test of confidence. Was the Diamond brand’s project truly credible? The answer seems positive.
The team’s first pride will be the first arrival of both cars under the checkered flag.
For his first Grand Prix, Jolyon Palmer drove a sensible race, remaining calm under the pressure, especially from the young guns of Toro Rosso.
.@jolyonpalmer being put under pressure from @ToroRossoSpy pic.twitter.com/sKxObEi4OM
— Renault Sport F1 (@RenaultSportF1) March 20, 2016
Even though the Englishman held onto the points until the 41st Lap, this eleventh place brings great satisfaction:
“I think the team did an incredible job this weekend with the car! This result is the best we could achieve. It was a good start for me, I was even close to scoring points.”
The 2014 GP2 champion discussed the pleasure of returning to racing behind the wheel, after a year of biding his time as a test driver:
“The race was stressful for me but it was fun: I enjoyed fighting wheel to wheel with other drivers after a year without racing for me. I’m currently having a great time!”
Kévin Magnussen, on the other hand, was less fortunate with a puncture right on the first lap of the race. After a solid first stint, he was able to partially make up for lost ground, ultimately finishing just behind his teammate, in twelfth place.
“We really have a good car in our hands! The basis of its settings is very solid. We will be able to capitalize on this to go after performance.”
Second here in 2014, “K-Mag” experienced a more eventful takeoff this year: “My start was complicated with that puncture. I don’t think I touched anyone, so I’m really unlucky! Our pace after the red flag was very promising, I’m looking forward to the upcoming races!”
These results have in any case generally satisfied the demanding Fred Vasseur, the competition director:
“Today is encouraging for the team: our good race pace is a solid foundation on which we can build. Jolyon and Kevin did a very good job. It was really unfortunate that Kevin suffered a puncture right from the start but the rest of the race went well, which is reassuring, especially for this first race.”
Perfectionist to the core, he nevertheless focuses his remarks on the points to work on for upcoming deadlines: *”We still need to improve our pace in Qualifying to hope for better results. It would have been even better to score points today!”*
