By role
June 9 2004

Renault Technical Director of Chassis, Bob Bell, is confident that the team will remain competitive during the season thanks to the constant stream of new improvements at every race. Renault Technical Director of Chassis, Bob Bell, is confident that the team will remain competitive during the season thanks to the constant stream of new improvements at every race.

Next stop is the Canadian Grand Prix followed the week after for the US Grand Prix and even if neither of the track are perfectly suited for the car they expect to remain competitive.

The first improvements will come on Friday for the Canadian Grand Prix:

"We will have aerodynamic developments, plus an engine upgrade as well. There is a constant stream of improvements planned for the next races as we move through the halfway point of the season. We are not under any illusion that these will suddenly take us to Ferrari's level, but they will certainly allow us to remain competitive with our closest rivals. We will continue to focus on performance throughout the summer." He said.

The team has made na improvement on the understanding of the car and have improved the stability of the car, something demanded quite a lot by both drivers:

"I think that our recent gains represent a real step forward in our understanding and use of the car, although there is still plenty of scope for improvement. On this level, we have further changes and developments programmed that should see us move further in the right direction." He added.

Even if the next two races are not the best for the R24 Bob expects the team to pose a challenge for the podium:

"Circuits that require higher levels of downforce, and place greater demands on the aero package, certainly favour us more than the two forthcoming races are likely to. These two circuits are standard ones for the team - we should be competitive, without necessarily springing any great surprises. Canada in particular places a particular emphasis on managing the weekend properly, and dealing with the challenges of the heavy braking - as a team, that is something we deal with very well. We raced strongly at both places last year, and managed to collect good points-scoring finishes. We will be aiming for the podium once again, and looking to maintain our extremely profitable reliability record." He mentioned.

So podiums at every race continue to be the primary goal for Renault in 2004?

"I think they remain a very realistic aim. At the moment, we do not have a package that will allow us to worry Ferrari on a race-by-race basis, but the R24 is fundamentally a very good car, and performs well aerodynamically. We know where our weaknesses lie, but the team is a very strong one, our reliability has been exceptional and the drivers are performing consistently. I don't think anybody can rule us out of the podium positions, and if the circumstances fall to us, then - as we have proved already this year - we are more than capable of winning." He concluded.