Still work to be done but we’re making good progress - Lom

The Renault engineer in charge of the partnership with Red Bull Racing, Fabrice Lom, talks about the team’s North American campaign and the expectations for the upcoming races, to begin the race at Magny-Cours.

"Engine-wise, we didn’t run into any problems in these two races which is very positive. The circuits were very hard on the V8s and we had to adapt them accordingly, but everything went well. To sum up: after seven races I think that Red Bull Racing is better than its direct rivals, Toyota and Williams. Reliability is also less of a problem. In addition, we didn’t come home empty-handed from these two events! There’s still work to be done but we’re making good progress."

"It’s true. Before the first race we were neither quick not reliable, and since then the team has done an enormous amount of work to turn things around. Today, we have at least one of our cars in the top ten in qualifying, and we’re always in a position to score points if they finish. What’s more we’re not far off the teams fighting for fourth place. It’s all very positive.”

"Yes. Renault and BMW are clearly ahead of us, and will certainly finish in third and fourth place overall. But behind, in the battle for fifth each point scored is worth its weight in gold."

"It’s on the cards. On some circuits we’re already very close. In Barcelona, for example, we were not far behind the BMWs. On a few occasions we can be the no.3 team. What we’re still lacking, though, is the consistency and capacity to maintain the same level of performance from one grand prix to the next."

"I really hope so. A few years ago this was a very British team and its relationship with the French was a bit edgy. All that’s been forgotten since Red Bull Racing has been working with Renault. We have a good relationship, and we’re determined to come up with a top-level performance at Magny-Cours. It’ll not only please the Renault engineers but also the whole team. "