By role
April 20 2004

Italian Jarno Trulli is confident of the chances his team have to be again in the podium. After several improvements to the chassis and the engine the Italian hopes they can challenge for one of the top positions at this weekend's San Marino Grand Prix. A key aspect for this is to have a good set up of the car:

"The objective remains the same as anywhere else: setting the car up so that it is comfortable for the driver, and as quick as possible. Getting the car to ride well over the kerbs is an important factor at this circuit, and you need to take account of them when getting the car set up, but that is just one factor: you also need good braking stability, and obviously a set-up that enables a good change of direction in the chicanes. The set-up compromise changes according to the circuit conditions, sometimes you will focus on extracting maximum speed from the car, sometimes maximum driveability, but it is always a big technical challenge - maybe not the most exciting circuit for the drivers but technically, it is always tricky to get things exactly right." He said.

He is also confident that the improvements can make a difference at the Italian track:

"The new engine specification is a good development in all areas: there is more power, better torque and overall it is more driveable. We also have some chassis developments - it is harder for a driver to feel those small steps in aero performance, but the stopwatch has confirmed the wind tunnel readings in testing. It is definitely a step forwards." He added.

Renault is currently second on the Constructors Championship and they look forward to keeping up the position:

"When we ran at Imola in February the car felt quite good, but we were not running against any of our major rivals at that test. In Imola, we will certainly be looking to maintain the level of competitiveness that we have shown at the first three races, but to do so, we will need a trouble-free weekend. If we can achieve that, then we will be fighting for the podium again." He concluded.