Renault interview with Dudot

Viry-Châtillon Deputy Managing Director Bernard Dudot: "a just reward"

Renault's success in Budapest is also that of a technical concept which has sometimes made life difficult for the engineers at Viry. What's more, it has encouraged them to take a few calculated risks for the end of the year.

Q: How did Viry-Châtillon react to last Sunday's win?

Bernard Dudot: Everybody was thrilled. You need to realise that roughly 50% of the people who work here now have never won a race with Renault: that demonstrates the level of recruitment over the last few months. Sunday's result was a big event. As we know, the RS23 has been a difficult project at times, and the people at Viry have put a lot of effort into it. This V10 is now a winning engine, and that is good news.

Q: Was it particularly pleasing to see this engine win after the technical problems the team encountered?

BD: It's true to say that the RS23 generation engine has given us some challenges to tackle, but I think this win is a just reward.

Q: You have won many races with Renault before. Is this one different though?

BD: This win is special because of the effect it has had on all the members of the team. In my opinion, this is the start of an exciting period for Renault, and we are gradually putting the pieces into place which will allow us to grow in competitiveness. That is pushing us to take some risks. Also, the parent company welcomed this success as an important event: everybody was extremely pleased, and let us know that. It's a big encouragement to see we are not isolated, but instead that our work forms part of what the whole company is trying to achieve.

Q: What evolutions will the RS23 undergo between now and the end of the season?

BD: Over the last few months, we have adopted a strategy of taking regular, small steps: this means we are not making spectacular gains each time, but they are nevertheless significant, and the drivers can feel them each time they drive the car. Certain developments are underway, and should make their race debut soon. What's more, last Sunday's win allows us to take a few more risks.

Thus, we will spend this weekend trying to homologate an engine evolution for Monza: if it is approved, it should gain us one or two tenths through modifications to the cylinder head. We are also studying some other details, notably on the camshafts. We have already started taking some calculated risks, all the more so because the team's targets for 2003 have now been met.

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