The Renault R31 should gain 10 seconds per race!

James, for the first time this season, both drivers scored points. After the race, you described the result as satisfactory…

Seeing the two cars in the points, one just behind the other, is satisfying… We all would have preferred it to be closer to the front of the race, but it is what it is and is probably a fair reflection of the car’s pace.

The team continues its development course. What’s new for Spain?

We are bringing a series of aerodynamic improvements for the next race, the development race knows no respite. None of them individually are massive, but there are six of them, and they still gain 0.15 to 0.20 seconds per lap. It’s not a huge improvement, but if we can continue like this for each race, it will start to speak volumes.

This year, we also found that tire preparation is a key element of the race weekend…

On certain tracks, the tires are really at their limit. This was the case in Turkey and it will also be in Barcelona. Therefore, it is very important to follow a very methodical plan on Friday. Furthermore, the importance of preserving tires during qualifying is becoming increasingly evident to everyone, in order to optimize results on Sunday.

The execution of pit stops has always been of great importance. Recently, we have witnessed a growing number of stops. Are they still decisive for a good result?

Completing fast and flawless pit stops is as important as developing the car’s aerodynamics. Our aero modification for Barcelona will be worth about 10 seconds over the entire race. A single failed pit stop would wipe out all the benefits of this improvement. Even if you don’t make a mistake, but your four stops are one second slower than the competition, it’s like taking away a good modification from the car. So yes, pit stops are important and it’s an area where we haven’t been as strong as we would like this season. The race team is making great efforts at the factory, with support from various engineering functions, to reach the required level on the stops. We are not there yet, but we made significant progress in the last race and will continue in the upcoming ones.

Barcelona is a circuit that the teams know well. What is its main difficulty?

The Barcelona track demands a very high level of aerodynamic efficiency. So the main challenge is to create a car that is aerodynamically effective! A series of long and fast corners combined with the nature of the asphalt make the track very hard on the tires. Even though we will have new hard Pirelli tires that might slightly change the scenario in Barcelona, it seems likely that the race will include numerous pit stops.

Will DRS and KERS play a key role in Spain?

The biggest influence by far on the ease of overtaking in Turkey came from the very abrasive track for the tires. Barcelona is practically similar; soft tire degradation can cost up to 0.3 seconds per lap. This means that minimal strategy variations lead to very large performance differences at different times during the race. In comparison, DRS and KERS have only a secondary effect on overtaking. We can therefore expect another thrilling race with lots of action on the track. It will not be the traditional Spanish GP.

According to a press release