There is a pack of 4 teams – Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren Mercedes and Mercedes GP – who are within some tenths of a second from each other in terms of lap times on top of the field, and another group of teams battling for the 5th spot, among which we can include Sauber F1, Williams-Cosworth, Force India and Toro Rosso.
Anyone missing? Yes, you got it right, it's Renault F1 Team, whose R30 is yet to show some positive signs of improvements on track. The idea was picked up even by rookie driver Nico Hulkenberg, who admitted that the Genii Capital-controlled outfit will play “catch up” in the early stages of 2010.
“At Renault it doesn't seem to be running smoothly at the moment, but they should not be underestimated,” said the German driver.
Renault F1 went through quite a metamorphosis through the winter of 2009, with the ownership (Genii Capital), management (Eric Boullier), drivers' lineup (Kubica and Petrov) and car's livery (classic Renault Sport colors black and yellow) all changed up for the 2010 campaign.
“There was a big gap to make up at the end of 2009 so we will have to take two steps forward if we want to catch the top teams. Performance is what we need – it's always the best medicine,” admitted the team's leading driver (at least that's what is expected of him in 2010) Kubica.
Knowing the level of performance of their R30 prior to the season opening round, Boullier already confirmed the team has been working on a “big” update for this weekend's race that will likely shorten the gap to the front-runners.
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