Belgian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Renault

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - RENAULT SPORT FORMULA 1 TEAM 

Kevin Magnussen - “I love it (Spa-Franchorchamps). I remember the first lap I did there in 2009 in a Formula Renault 2.0 car. That car is way too slow for the track! You need an F1 car as it is just so big. I feel very lucky to have done it now as you can appreciate the flow and speed of the corners. I love Eau Rouge - even though it’s flat now it’s still so enjoyable to go through. On top of Eau Rouge you can run the kerb and straight-line a lot so it’s a bit of a shame it’s not gravel or wall on the outside as would make it even more of a challenge. In the wet it is still a massive corner and you can guarantee it will be wet at some point over the weekend! It’s one of my favourite corners.

The track is so long that it can be wet in one part of the track and dry in the other. In these cases your normal cut off points for intermediate, wet and dry tyres go out of the window as you have to judge how much you will gain on slicks in some corners versus the risk of wet in other. It’s one of the main difficulties of Spa. I have won in everything I have raced (there), except F1, but I have had some fun races. I held back Alonso for the whole race… he was very annoyed with me and I actually ended up getting a penalty for defending too hard, but I definitely enjoyed that one!

The car felt good (at the last round in Germany) and we were competitive in the first two stints on the supersoft tyre but ran too long on them. The two stop strategy didn’t really work but at least we showed at the start that we were competitive. With the right strategy we could have fought with Toro Rosso at the end of the race. I hope we can be at this level in Spa again.”

Jolyon Palmer - “When I first drove it (Spa) thought, I remember I thought it was incredible. The first thing that hits you is Eau Rouge. It’s just awesome. You see it on TV, or on the on-boards or on the Xbox, but it is even better the first time you drive it. Nothing prepares you for heading flat out down the hill and then coming up the other side and down that straight. In the dry we are now easily flat, maybe just slightly under with high fuel in the race, but it’s a real corner.

The whole circuit feels very flowing and you can appreciate the size of it. Pouhon is a very quick double apex left and it is probably the biggest challenge now. It also goes downhill so you pick up so much speed - even with the run off, if you get it wrong you’ll be off. Blanchimont is now easy flat but leads into the Bus Stop chicane, which is a great overtaking place when you scream round at the end of a fast lap. It’s very easy to get wrong, but hard to get right.

I actually won my first race at Spa, which was in Formula Palmer Audi. I remember it was wet - as always for Spa! I’ve had podiums in GP2 since but have always missed a win somewhere. I also started on the front row last time I went there. I’ve had some good memories but I’m eager to make some more!

Qualifying is important, but in the race overtaking is easier than at other races. The biggest thing is to keep one eye on the weather as you always need to be on the right tyres at the right time. If you get caught out it’s such a long lap that it can take you two minutes to get back to the pits and change tyres, by which time you would have lost so many positions.”

----
Article Posted By: Amy Hawk
No copyright infringement intended
Quotes belong to Drivers