Determined to get back to the front of the field - Christian Silk

Christian Silk, who has held his role of the ING Renault F1 Team's chief test engineer for a number of years, talks about what’s at stake this winter. Every test session helps to fine-tune preparations for the 2008 season.

"It’s true. There are a huge number of things we have to prepare for the coming season. For the moment, we’re concentrating on dealing with the arrival of the standard ECU, which brings with it the end of traction control and the Engine Braking System. We have to learn how to work with all these new factors. In addition, we weren’t competitive in 2007 and we’re determined to get back to the front of the field, so we have a huge amount of work to do."

"Everything, and I mean absolutely everything, is completely new for the team – the procedures as well as the data acquisition systems and analysis tools. So we have to familiarise ourselves with this system and arrive in Melbourne knowing it like the back of our hand: that’s why there are a lot of people in the garage for these first winter tests."

"CS: It’s true, the reliability is a big bonus for us. It means that we can complete test days without technical problems. We can run through all our programmes, understand the new parameters, fine-tune the set-ups we need to use without traction control, etc."

"We try, insofar as it’s possible, to advance on several areas at the same time. In the previous session in Barcelona our main aim was to check the car’s reliability with the new ECU. At the same time the driver was able to get to grips with understanding the car balance in these conditions, and developing new set-ups. We try and make maximum use of the time at our disposal. We know exactly what we have to do each day. But we have to keep back-up plans in mind. We can never count out a delay because of an accident or a major mechanical problem. You have to juggle your priorities from time to time."

"We always keep an eye on what our rivals are up to – how many laps they do, on worn or new tyres etc. That’s also part of our job during testing. But the basic times are almost impossible to analyse during the interseason. One guy is quicker in Valancia and another is quicker in Barcelona. There’s no point in wasting time in this area."

"Of course. We can, for example, debug the electronic system and understand it 100%. That’ll help us not to waste time when the R28 comes into service. In addition, certain parts for the new car are arriving and wherever possible they’re grafted onto the present one. This being said, the R28 is going to be different in many areas and it is impossible to put test many of the new car’s features on the old one."

"The fans’ attention is always focused on the race, but what happens there depends on our work in testing. The test team develops the car and it also applies new working methods that can benefit the factory later on. It’s got an enormous workload, in particular when the new car is launched. With the arrival of the R28 we’re not short of work, I can tell you! Our competitiveness in Melbourne will depend on how good we are in testing this winter."