Renault: Team cling to fifth in final race

2011 Brazilian GP team review

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Renault’s margin over Force India shrunk to four points in the final race.

Bruno SennaVitaly Petrov
Qualifying position915
Qualifying time comparison (Q2)1’13.300 (-0.753)1’14.053
Race position1710
Laps69/7170/71
Pit stops33

Renault drivers’ lap times throughout the race (in seconds):

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556575859606162636465666768697071
Bruno Senna88.56280.37479.8279.94779.78179.90179.63479.65479.80380.89779.8284.23495.61879.78278.95478.94281.76784.07388.96580.29280.0780.17579.83280.27980.03781.29280.55784.60896.87279.76179.76680.09983.1180.80480.22380.00979.90282.25781.27780.22279.8979.76679.71779.82979.92680.30682.0583.94597.41979.77480.66579.26479.22380.84879.04382.46479.0978.7779.02778.65680.12678.27478.4779.09878.65179.02378.78680.50681.605
Vitaly Petrov90.14980.96380.09780.02279.91579.53879.76479.48579.7880.18779.97980.18783.39493.22478.73479.04179.14778.67378.72578.82378.53178.61278.76878.5578.50578.55578.52978.82979.16883.10695.277.80277.81178.01578.6278.0678.77778.62778.75178.44779.05779.13378.00178.18982.48292.46777.38777.45578.40978.51679.72577.53877.55777.5777.69977.15577.26577.01177.96979.45578.46177.46477.33177.54378.30678.93778.47377.51977.42477.705

Bruno Senna

Bruno Senna, Renault, Interlagos, 2011
Start tyreSoft
Pit stop 1Soft 21.9s
Pit stop 2Medium 23.289s
Pit stop 3Soft 22.128s

Senna gave the home crowd some cheer by reaching Q3, although he didn’t have any fresh sets of soft tyres to use having got there.

Having made some poor starts earlier this year he got away better, holding on to ninth. He soon came under pressure from Michael Schumacher and the pair made contact, for which Senna received a penalty.

“Bruno didn’t suffer from his wing making contact with Michael’s car,” explained trackside operations director Alan Permane. “It would have taken longer to change the wing than we would have gained from replacing it.

“Bruno’s contact with Michael looked like a racing incident so we were surprised at the penalty, but of course we respect the stewards’ decision.”

A gearbox problem delayed his progress and left him 17th, half a minute behind the Lotus of Heikki Kovalainen.

Bruno Senna 2011 form guide

Vitaly Petrov

Start tyreSoft
Pit stop 1Soft 21.169s
Pit stop 2Soft 23.102s
Pit stop 3Medium 21.781s

Petrov went into qualifying chasing the car’s set-up as track temperature fluctuated. He ended up missing out on Q3, starting 15th.

He made a great start and was already 12th by the first corner. He lost time behind Jaime Alguersuari after his second pit stop which ultimately dropped him back behind Kamui Kobayashi.

“We came in quite early and I think we lost out being behind both Toro Rosso as it was very difficult to overtake them,” he said. “I lost quite a lot of time like this, otherwise I think I could have been ahead of Kamui Kobayashi and it would have been better to finish in ninth instead of tenth.”

Romain Grosjean

Drove Petrov’s car in first practice.

Vitaly Petrov 2011 form guide

2011 Brazilian Grand Prix

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    Keith Collantine
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    6 comments on “Renault: Team cling to fifth in final race”

    1. this was the last chance for Senna to impress the team, but it did not go well at the end…..absolutely gutted….
      he did well in Qualifying, but the race did not go well, could have avoided the clash with Schmacher, and then he lost 4 th gear from lap 20…..
      I would love him to stay in LRGP, but I highly doubt they will keep him next year….looks like will go to Grosjean now….his chance in F1 is limited

      1. Agreed. Petrov/Grosjean for LRGP would be the more… appropriate choice.

        Hope Senna stays in F1 though, perhaps as a test driver, or who knows there might be vacancy at another team! except HRT you know…

      2. Yeah I was so disappointed to see him get the penalty which I believe he didn’t deserve in any way. Schumacher turned in early and even without Senna locking up there would have been some contact. You can’t punish every contact, and the stewards haven’t. Consistency is needed.

        I really hope we see Senna staying in F1 as he is such a nice guy and hopefully has the talent.

    2. How many gearbox problems!
      I think Senna’s done reasonably well this season, a few races including some great and some awful performances. I’d say he has some margin of improvement, which I don’t think Petrov has.

      1. @Fixy Other than Spa and this race, Senna has managed to keep his head down. Petrov was all over the place in the rookie season. It’s a shame that Senna won’t get much of an F1 career but I don’t expect many will miss him, as harsh as it sounds.

    3. Well, surprised it wasn’t mentioned here; goodbye, Renault.

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