Zoom Coulthard chasing his first points of the season

Fabrice Lom, who looks after the activities of Renault F1 with Red Bull Racing, looks ahead to this weekend in Turkey. The team are sixth in the championship standings with eight points, one behind Toyota. Mark Webber has scored all the points so far for the team.

Fabrice, what did you take from the first European race of the season?
"We saw that the engines suffered in Spain as several drivers retired from the race. For us, despite a difficult race with David being affected by the safety car and the contact with Glock, it was overall a positive weekend. We have strengthened our position in the championship thanks to the four points scored by Mark and in the current climate, where the competition is so tight, each point is important. We made good progress, and apparently more than Toyota and Williams, who are our closest rivals. It is therefore encouraging for the rest of the season."

The next challenge is in Turkey this weekend. Is it a tough circuit for the engine?
"Turkey is a circuit that is relatively hard for the engine with the car on full throttle for quite a long time, which is always a challenge. But the main characteristic of this Grand Prix is without doubt the fine dust in the air which it is difficult to stop, even with our air filters, and this tends to pollute the engine. This is always a parameter that we pay particular attention to, especially at the beginning of the weekend. The Turkish Grand Prix therefore represents an interesting challenge on several levels for our engine team."

Usually held in the summer, the Turkish Grand Prix is being held earlier in the calendar this year. Does that change your approach?
"Apparently it should not be too hot, and not as hot as the previous races there, but that does not really change our preparation for the Grand Prix. David will be on the second Grand Prix with his engine, while Mark will have a fresh engine. This has both advantages and disadvantages, but as we will be in Monaco next where the impact on the life of the engine is not so significant, it is more of an advantage to have a new engine here. Turkey is not a challenge that we fear; it is an interesting circuit for the drivers and the engineers, and we are looking forward to it."

E.A. © CAPSIS International