Renault expecting more hard work

The Renault F1 team is naturally pleased about its performance at the Malaysian Grand Prix but is not about to expect an easy time of things to come. With Fernando Alonso's pole position, and team mate Jarno Trulli second on the grid, Renault were ...

The Renault F1 team is naturally pleased about its performance at the Malaysian Grand Prix but is not about to expect an easy time of things to come. With Fernando Alonso's pole position, and team mate Jarno Trulli second on the grid, Renault were the surprise of Sepang qualifying. Alonso went on to score his first podium position in third and Trulli finished fifth -- but chairman Patrick Faure, although very happy, knows there is more hard work to come.

Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli celebrate first row.

Photo by Renault F1.

"If we had been told our four cars would finish the races and all score points, we would not have believed it," he told L'Equipe. However, Faure is cautious about predicting a win soon: "It will be hard to win races. We must not forget that we have not seen either the new McLaren or Ferrari yet."

A victory may be a little optimistic as yet but technical director Mike Gascoyne believes regular podium finishes should be achievable. He is targeting Williams as the team Renault want to beat: "We're not the quickest team out there, but we can certainly compete for podiums at every race," said Gascoyne.

"We need to try to finish above fourth in the championship and that means beating Williams. I think they have a superb engine but their car doesn't handle so well. We can't beat them in a straight line, but I think if we can out-qualify them then we should be able to keep them behind us."

Director of engineering Pat Symonds said that preparation for the next race in Brazil had already started in Malaysia, and the strength of the R23 chassis should suit the Interlagos circuit: "The programmes for fine-tuning our cars to the demands of Interlagos have already begun," he explained.

"During our two hours of testing on Friday morning at Sepang, we in fact tested some tyre compounds with a view to the next race. We will be able to count on the chassis' strengths on the bumpy circuit at S?o Paulo, as well as on the extremely successful integration of the RS23 engine in the chassis."