Petrov looks forward to return to the 'familiar' Francorchamps-track
The Renault F1 Team looks ahead to this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix after a four week summer break. Vitaly Petrov hopes to build on the strong Hungarian performance at the challenging Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Vitaly, let’s look back to Budapest where you finished fifth, your best result in F1. You must have been very happy with your performance… "It was a very satisfying weekend. We thought that we would be quick because our car works well on this sort of track. The car was easy to drive and I found a good balance with my engineers so that I could get the most from the car. It was a weekend where everything came together; we improved step-by-step; and I didn’t make any mistakes. It was nice to begin the summer break after a race like that."
What have you been up to during the last three weeks? "I took some holiday to relax and saw my family and friends. Then I did some sports: waterskiing, jet-skiing and football, just to have some fun. It was nice to have a break and get refreshed, but I’m always ready to get back in the car. I also spent some time looking over videos of old races this year to analyse some things – the good and the bad – to see what I could learn and where I can improve."
Spa is always a favourite with the drivers – what do you think of the track? "It’s a circuit I know quite well from my GP2 experience and I’m happy to be going back there. For the set-up, it’s really important to have a very good aerodynamic balance because the track has so many high-speed corners and you need good stability in the corners. Hopefully we will have our f-duct working well for this weekend so that we can be as competitive as we were in Budapest, even though Spa is a circuit with completely different characteristics."
What are your expectations for the weekend? "Anything is possible. If everything comes together: me, the car, and the team, the results will come as well. But we still have to wait and see how the f-duct works in free practice and how the car behaves in the high-speed corners. We know our car is already quite stable in the fast corners, but it’s difficult to match the Red Bulls and the Ferraris. So it’s difficult to know what to expect, but we will try our best."
