We aim to keep the momentum going - Vasseur
Renault's Racing Director, Fred Vasseur said his team will be looking to continue the momentum at the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix, as he considered the team's debut in Australia as very encouraging for the future.
"For sure we need to improve, and we know we have a lot of work ahead of us", said Vasseur, "but so far I am very happy with how things are going and the collaboration between Viry and Enstone."
Having completed his first race as Racing Director, the Frenchman was happy with how he was accepted in the team, and also said performance was considered satisfying.
"It was a very positive start to the season. We aimed to get to the end of the race and we got there with two cars. The end result was not excessively flattering, due to the number of incidents that did not go in our favour, but the pace at the end was good, comparable to Force India and not far from Williams, which is encouraging for the team and a good basis to build on. We need to maximise our qualifying form so we can take advantage of this strong race pace but that will come I am sure. If it wasn’t for the restart I think we could have scored points as we were in a great position, but that’s life. We know where we are and what we need to do to achieve what we want."
In fact, the team's ability to finish just outside the points was out of its expectations, especially given the lack of development effort that went into the R.S.16 , as the team did not have sufficient money before the takeover to make considerable progress.
"The first target was to finish the race and we achieved it with both cars. You always have to think about what was the objective when you start and if someone told me in Barcelona that we would fight in the race with a Force India and a Williams I would have laughed! It’s a good surprise."
On to Bahrain, Vasseur underlines it's impossible to single out a single item that needs to be improved, as there is simply too much work left do to.
"We don’t have to be focused on one thing, but work on every side of the business: engine, chassis and drivers. We need to work as a team to move forward. But it is very encouraging to start like we did in Australia, we now need to keep the momentum going."
