Renault Elated After First Top Four Finish In 15 Years

Renault are understandably over the moon with the results of the Bahrain Grand Prix, which saw Renault power lock out the top four positions. The last time this was achieved was 15 years ago in 1997, when Williams and Benetton locked out the top four at the 1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix.

Renault power has had a recent run of good form in Formula 1, after not only winning the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship in 2005 and 2006, but also with Red Bull as their engine suppliers in 2010 and 2011. However, throughout this period of success for Renault, they never achieved a quadruple top finish.

“It was fantastic today. We made a really solid race with a good start and after that we just had to manage the first position for Sebastian.” Explained Cyril Dumont of Renault, “For Renault, it’s a fantastic result, and I think we have to go back 15 years to find the last quadruple top finish in F1. The last was in ’97, so I would like to congratulate everyone from Viry, from Renault and from Mechachrome for a very good job.”

Renault also power Williams and Caterham, however their separate fortunes were slightly contrasting come the end of the race. Caterham are continuing to improve, with the addition of Renault power assisting them greatly. Whereas Williams, after an impressive opening few races, suffered a double retirement only a week after completing a double points finish in China.

With Renault seemingly having all aspects of the 2012 grid covered, it could well turn out to be another successful year for the French supplier. With both Red Bull and Lotus undeniably capable of being highly competitive in 2012 and fighting for victories, Williams engrossed in the midfield and Caterham beginning to knock on the midfield’s door, it’s all smiles at Renault as they head to the fifth round of the 2012 season.

Picture Copyright © Lotus F1 Team 

Kimi Raikkonen Test – Day 1

Kimi Raikkonen raced a Formula 1 car again today after a two year absence after spending a day in a 2010-spec Renault around the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia. The test session is being run as a private session, meaning there was no fan or media access to the track.

Kimi Raikkonen left the pits at roughly 9am this morning, debuting a new helmet and racing in a 2010-spec Renault which has been repainted with Lotus’s trademark black and gold color scheme. Due to the strict testing regulations that are currently in force in Formula 1, Raikkonen was unable to race the car with any contemporary machinery, meaning the Iceman had to race on demo Pirelli tyres. 

Kimi Raikkonen will be the first of the two Lotus drivers to test the new car at Jerez next month, and the two day test is aimed at readjusting Kimi to F1 after not racing in the sport since the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for Ferrari. Since then the Finn has dabbled in the World Rally Championship and Nascar before finally returning to F1. The 2007 World Champion admitted today that he didn’t expect to return to F1, stating that he didn’t really have any plans for the future.

Due to the fact that the Renault is two years old and the tyres are only demonstration rubber, Lotus haven’t released any lap times from todays running. Kimi Raikkonen today admitted that it may take time for him to settle back into F1, especially mastering the new Pirelli tyres.

“It was nice to get back in the car,” said Kimi Raikkonen, “It was quite a few years since I have driven last time, of course it takes a little while to get used to it. But the main driving, braking, turning, that doesn’t take many laps. But of course to start learning about the car and team and tyres, that will take time.”

With tomorrow being the last day of testing before the official pre-season testing gets underway at Jerez next month, Lotus and Raikkonen will be hoping these two days of testing pay off when the lights go out at Melbourne in just over 54 days time.

Hamilton Off To Ferrari

It has been reported this morning that the 2008 Formula One World Champion and British star, Lewis Hamilton, could well be off to Ferrari in a controversial move that could see him replace arch-rival Felipe Massa and become team-mates once again with Fernando Alonso.

It has been obvious throughout this season that Hamilton has had a highly difficult year both personally and on the track with McLaren, especially with the uprising of team-mate Jenson Button who has undoubtedly shadowed Hamilton who has up until now never been beaten by his team-mate in the Drivers’ Standings.

It is also very well known that Ferrari are starting to get restless with Felipe Massa’s lack of results, as his team-mate Fernando Alonso has won at least one race this season (British Grand Prix) whereas Massa has failed to even achieve a podium this season with his Ferrari. If he fails to get a podium next weekend at his home race in Brazil, he will become the first Ferrari driver since Ivan Capelli in 1992 to fail to do so, who was then replaced two races from seasons end by Nicola Larini, who also failed to get a podium in the final two races. 

Taking these two pieces of information into account, some say Hamilton is poised to replace Massa at Ferrari. However Hamilton is undeniably part of a long list of drivers who are in the running of replacing Massa, joining Sergio Perez, Nico Rosberg, Paul Di Resta, Jules Bianchi and even Robert Kubica. So time will tell over the next few months which, if any, of these drivers will replace Massa.

Button’s “Multi-Year Deal” Only Three Years Long

It was announced during the Indian Grand Prix weekend by McLaren Team Principal, Martin Whitmarsh, that Jenson Button’s Multi-Year Contract is only 3 years long, much shorter than many expected.

In an interview with the BBC during last weekends Indian Grand Prix, Martin Whitmarsh sung the praises of the 2009 World Champion before adding, “Hopefully we’ll have another three exciting years with him!”. This sparks confusion within the F1 Paddock as many expected the deal to be at least four years long! It is hard to imagine Button retiring at the end of 2014, so where will the Brit end up? Will he leave McLaren for Ferrari or Red Bull or even another top team at the time? Or will he decide life at McLaren is still too good to prompt him to leave? With Jenson Button’s current run of form it is hard to see him leaving McLaren anytime soon, and the pressure he is adding to that of Lewis Hamilton means we could well be seeing a repetition of the highly exciting Senna Vs Prost years of the late 80s, early 90s.

Could Jenson Button secure a 2nd World Championship in his time with McLaren? With the way he has driven these last two years it is certainly a possibility if McLaren can design a car worthy of contending for a Championship against the likes of Adrian Newey’s Red Bull’s. Time will tell, and the next few years in F1 are shaping up to be extremely exciting!