Renault Confirms R30 Updates for the Australian GP

Renault have walked away from the Bahrain Grand Prix without a single point in their tally, but that isn't to mean the Enstone based outfit was unhappy with how the R30 behaved on the Sakhir track. Only some external factors caused the two Renault drivers to drop out of points contention a couple of Sundays ago – Vitaly Petrov's car suffered a suspension failure while Robert Kubica spun in the opening lap – while the data gathered by the team showed the cars are quite competitive otherwise.

Just to make sure both will have a decent shot at making the Q3 session in the Australian GP qualy and also manage a strong finish in the race, Renault has now confirmed some new components will be added to the car, including some revised front and rear wings

“We have some new aero parts for Melbourne, which should give us a bit more performance. There's a new front wing and a new part on the rear wing, which improves our overall downforce,” said the team's chief race engineer Alan Permane.

“It's a track where you need good braking stability because it's very bumpy in the braking zones. You also need good traction because the lap is mostly made up of second and third gear chicanes where a good change of direction is important. In the final part of the lap the car wants to understeer, especially through the final corner onto the pit straight, so you need a good front end to cope with this,” added Permane, previewing the action at Albert Park this weekend.

With both drivers setting their primary goals at making the Q3, Polish racer Robert Kubica admitted he has a better feeling when approaching the Aussie race, as compared to the Bahrain weekend a few weeks ago.

“Before the start of the season, I had the feeling that Melbourne would be a better circuit for us than Bahrain. Now that we have seen the other cars running and collected more information about where we stand, I think even more that it will be a good circuit for us,” said Kubica.

Petrov, who made a great impression on his first outing with Renault in F1 – driving from 17th on the grid to 11th in the race after a few laps – reckoned that his first run on the Albert Park circuit will have a learning component to it.

“The most important thing is to learn the track and understand how it flows. I need to get out there and feel the asphalt, see the kerbs, walk a lap to have the right feeling for what I need to do. Then I will do the best job I can and we'll see what happens,” added the Russian driver.