By role
May 13 2003

Michael Schumacher does not think that Renault will become a threat on his quest to a record 6th Championship. The German drivers see the main threat coming from the McLaren-Mercedes team. Even if Renault showed promise on last Spanish GP and Alonso was able to finish that race just 6 seconds away of Michael, the German still believes that the main threat is going to come from old rivals McLaren instead than from the Anglo-French team.

“I don't think Renault have made such a step forward,” Michael said. “In my opinion there is no point in assuming a different order based on just one race. I am starting from the presumption that McLaren- Mercedes will still be our main opponent. They have been strong since the start of the year, even if Renault scored an excellent result in Spain. But I think it will be interesting to see how things develop over the next few races, not only with regard to Renault but also how things go for BMW-Williams. Even on the driver side, I think that, in the long term, the McLaren guys will be the most competitive. Kimi is still leading the championship and is a great driver, but you can never rule out David.”

Renault has scored 3 podiums in five races thanks to the driving of Spaniard Fernando Alonso. However, it is widely commented in the paddock that the Renault engine is down in power as much as 100 bhp and that it is going to affect Renault on the Austrian GP.

Renault plans to use at the A1-Ring a new spec engine that is supposed to bring 20 extra horsepower.