By role
June 23 2003

Mike Gascoyne, Renault F1 Technical Director, is quite confident of the chances of his team for the upcoming European GP. The team has lots of confidence after showing better form than expected in canada. After results better than expected in Canada, Gascoyne recognized that the Nürburgring is a track that suits better the R23 than the Villeneuve track in Canada in which Alonso finished 4th just seconds behind the winner:

"Canada was an excellent performance, although we were disappointed not to get two cars to the finish. Fernando, in particular, was tremendously
competitive at a track that we did not expect to suit our package, and it was very gratifying to finish just behind the leader. Canada was a good race for us, and the Nürburgring should suit the car even better."

The Nürburgring has a configuration that should suit perfectly the efficient Renault chassis:

"The Nürburgring is a high-downforce circuit, and we already know the car is very efficient in that kind of configuration. What’s more, Michelin have been doing a fantastic job, particularly on their dry-weather performance, and we are confident that our recent testing will serve us well for the upcoming races." He said. "First of all, we have to make sure we get two cars to the finish. If we do, then we expect two very competitive finishes, which will help us in achieving our main aim of claiming third place in the Constructors’ Championship."

Gascoyne is continuing to aim high this season and with the help of both drivers they can regain the third position on the Constructor's Standings that are holding Williams at the present time.

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering, is bringing new improvements for the car on this race:

"We will have small improvements on the chassis and aerodynamics as items which have been race-approved in our Heathrow and private testing are
brought into the programme. The engine is also undergoing a phase of continuous development and for this race, following a successful test at Jerez, we hope to debut changes that will both improve mid-range power and allow us to increase engine rpm." He declared.