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#02 RACE PREVIEW CHINA Shanghai // 07/08/09 April 2017 Content // Cyril Abiteboul // Nick Chester // Nico Hülkenberg // Jolyon Palmer // Track Notes Cyril Abiteboul FOREWORD To illustrate that the 2017 season is well and truly underway, we now head to China for the start of the first back-to-back combination of races. Cyril Abiteboul Renault Sport Racing Managing Director Race one in Australia showed that we have the pace The performance of the power unit seems to be Development, our partner for Asian Formula Renault. but not necessarily the complete execution with the delivering at the level we expected and we know there Over 40,000 drivers have already applied to be part of R.S.17. We definitely had potential to finish in the is more to come. In due course we will revert to the the 2017 programme so it’s a very exciting initiative. points at Albert Park, so that is what we should have 2017-specification MGU-K and we will also introduce Our 2016 winner, Marcus Song Xu Jie, will be joining achieved. upgrades but this will only happen if we achieve the us in Shanghai as will Renault Sport Academy driver reliability level we need. Sun Yue Yang. Clearly, this latest generation Formula 1 has intensified the need to deliver at maximum potential In China we want to achieve what we didn’t in Closer to home we have a new appointment at in every regard. We need to ensure that the car is Australia; make it into Q3 and finish in the points. It’s Enstone with Naoki Tokunaga appointed as Chief in the right place at the right time, whether that be a completely different circuit and last year it wasn’t a Transformation Officer from April 1. Naoki has most our strategists finding the best clear air on track, great race for us so we want to do much better. recently served as Technical Director at Viry and was our mechanics and every component on the car is previously Deputy Technical Director at Enstone so he China is important for Formula 1 and it’s important faultless, our pit stops occurring as quickly as possible knows both our operations intimately. His new role is for Renault. It’s a market of growth for Renault with and our power unit is being harnessed in the most in line with our evolving structure as we adapt to the Formula 1 providing part of the framework for this efficient manner possible. We must always deliver at current needs. We have now reached the 600 mark growth. We will have strong activations off track the top of our game. in terms of headcount at Enstone so there has been and then following the Grand Prix we will present a significant increase in resource over the past 15 At short term, the main point is reliability. We didn’t something entirely new and forward-looking at the months. have any ERS issues but we did experience other Shanghai Motor Show. issues – most notably Jolyon’s brakes in the race – so Motorsport is an area of exciting development we clearly have work to do. in China with plans to double the number of FIA The big positive we take from Melbourne is that we certified circuits over the coming decade. Renault have the pace to be where we want to be: fighting for Sport is contributing to this growth with our Road to points. If we do everything right, we will fight for fifth Champion programme in conjunction with Dongfeng place in the championship by the end of the season. Renault Automotive Company and Formula Racing “ The performance of the power unit seems to be delivering at the level we expected and we know there is more to come. ” NICK CHESTER Chasing performance After the R.S.17’s first race, Chassis Technical Director Nick Chester looks to Shanghai with a sense of optimism. Nick Chester Renault Sport One Formula One Team Q&A Chassis Technical Director What’s the general feedback What’s on the must try harder How did the 2017 driver line-up What’s the challenge of the after the first race? list? work in Melbourne? Shanghai International Circuit? We feel we have made a good step We are very early in the Nico is new to us and he is a very China is an interesting circuit forward since last year. The R.S.17 development curve so there’s quick driver with precise feedback in terms of layout. It’s quite a is able to fight in the mid-field. a lot of improvement to come and knows what he wants from demanding circuit in terms of We need to improve the car across the board, both with car the car. A lot of his feedback was power – especially with the long balance which will come with track components and how we get the echoed by Jolyon which makes back straight. It is a relatively time. We are still learning how to best out of it in terms of set-up. the development path more smooth circuit so easier to setup get the best out of the car under We didn’t get the set-up balance in straightforward. Jolyon was very for in terms in terms of ride than the new regulations and there is a the sweet spot in Albert Park and unlucky with a difficult weekend Melbourne. As usual we will need lot of potential to come. that affects how much the drivers and we didn’t give him a car to trade off downforce and drag to can extract from the car as well that was working properly and arrive at the optimum wing level. as how it uses the tyres. We need it affected him in qualifying and We will continue to learn more to focus on the strategy lessons in the race. We have rectified the about the tyres which seem very learnt as finding clean air to make problem for China. durable. the most of your tyre strategy looks to be even more important than before. We need to focus on our pit stops. There are also a number of minor improvements we can make to the car. There’s a “ We are still learning how to get the big to-do list. best out of the car under the new regulations and there is a lot of potential to come. ” NICO HÜLKENBERG NICO HÜLKENBERG NICO HULKENBURG Hulk on point A second shy of the points in Melbourne, Nico Hülkenberg is determined to finish higher in Shanghai. Q&A Nico Hülkenberg / Race Driver #27 What is your frame of mind heading to China and tighter and tighter in a corner that seems to go on forever What are your thoughts one race in with your new Shanghai? before spitting you out into the downhill, tight turn three. team? I’m going to be pushing all the way for points. Australia I feel totally at home and I know we can deliver good was slightly frustrating as we could have done better with Historically, looking after the tyres has been hard work things together. It’s clearly a big operation at the start of a the pace we had in the car but traffic was an issue for most because turn 13 is another long right-hander that takes long adventure and it’s great to be part of this. Everyone’s of the race. Our tyre strategy didn’t help us either. It looks even more life out of them. The tyres and the cars are working hard together and I know we can achieve great like we’re in the midfield with some of our rivals slightly very different this year so we’ll have a lot to learn on Friday things in the future. ahead, but certainly in reach, and Shanghai is a very this year. different track from Albert Park, so let’s see what happens. The rest of the lap has a bit of everything from low- What’s your take on racing the Shanghai International speed to high-speed, which makes it challenging to find Circuit? a balanced set-up. There’s a big long straight where you The track is famous for the never-ending turn-one / turn have enough time to complete your tax return and have two combination. It’s a tricky corner because it’s easy to an expresso as you’re going in straight line with your foot go in too hot, especially during qualifying, and it’s a corner hard down for so long, then you wake up and you’re hard that eats the front-left tyre. This combination really sucks on the brakes. It’s really important to get your braking right you in as the corner goes on a long time after a really fast there as it’s a pretty important corner. entry, but you are shedding speed thereafter as it gets “ It’s clearly a big operation at the start of a long adventure and it’s great to be part of this. ” jolyon palmer jolyon palmer jolyon Reset and reloadpalmer After a frustrating Australian Grand Prix Jolyon Palmer is aiming for more laps and a better vibe in Shanghai. Jolyon Palmer / Race Driver #30 Q&A What’s the plan for China? start to the season so I’m looking lap together is not easy as there fruity. The middle section should It’s a clean slate approach for me to get more laps on the board are a lot of different sections.

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