A “hyper important” weekend for Renault
There are only two races left before the end of the season, and Renault has lost the advantage in the race for third place. The French team knows that it cannot afford any mistakes.
We take the same ones and start again. Or rather the same actors but almost the same setting. For the third time this season, the paddock has stayed in the same place for a second weekend at the same location. But unlike Austria and Silverstone, this time the second race in Sakhir will take place on a different track.
This is not without displeasing Daniel Ricciardo, who commented during a press briefing given to the French media: “It’s a good thing they changed. We get bored when we do two races on the same circuit.” Nevertheless, he has enough experience to know that no two races are ever the same: “All sessions will be at night because we will be 3 hours later. That might have an impact because our cars are so sensitive to everything, the heat, the wind…”
The Australian is not the only one thinking about these details. Shortly before, his teammate, the Frenchman Esteban Ocon, stated: « It’s a super important weekend. We have to do everything right, manage the traffic well, be very attentive to the exit times… There will be different issues than usual. » The reason? An extremely small circuit, with very few corners. The lap times will therefore be under a minute, which promises a great cacophony during the last attempt in Q1.
Precisely, the exercise of qualifications is one of the main areas of improvement for the young French driver, who has suffered from comparison with his teammate since the beginning of the season. This has required him to change his approach to the weekend and his way of working with his engineers in order to deliver the best at the right moment: « It’s a sum of details to close the gap. It’s important to build confidence in the car because we only have one lap. So, we can’t miss it. Now, I am much more confident with the car. » It shows: last week, only two thousandths of a second separated the two Renault drivers at the end of the qualifying session.
If the Diamond still displays its determination to secure the third place in the Constructors’ standings, the 27-point gap separating it from McLaren seems somewhat prohibitive with only two races remaining, unless a major turnaround occurs. On the other hand, Racing Point is clearly in sight, just ten points away. The two Renault drivers therefore fully intend to maximize their weekend to score precious points.
