Boullier still aiming to beat Mercedes

2011 F1 season

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Eric Boullier, Renault, Nurburgring, 2011

Renault team principal Eric Boullier still has his sights on beating Mercedes to fourth in the constructors’ championship.

Boullier said: “Sportingly, [Spa] could have been a better weekend because we had one car in the low points and the other not scoring any which is not sufficient if we’re going to chase down Mercedes GP in fourth place.

“However, all in all it was a good weekend; we had a very respectable qualifying session and Bruno stepped into the cockpit successfully. These aspects were quite promising; it was encouraging for the team to be able to see the cars delivering and their work bearing fruit.”

Mercedes have 98 points to Renault’s 68 with seven races remaining. But over the last five races Mercedes have out-scored Renault by 46 points to eight.

Boullier said the arrival of Bruno Senna has improved the mood at the team: “I think the positive energy really came about after qualifying because everyone knows it is extremely challenging for a new driver to step in.

“Seeing the team applauding the drivers after Q2 and Q3 was a good sign; I was very happy to see that, and it was pleasing to see smiles back on the team’s faces.

“It’s difficult to draw too much from one race alone, whether that’s in terms of who is in the race seat or the effect of the upgrade package, but Monza should give us a clearer indication as to how things are going.

“Monza is always a difficult track because it requires a low downforce set-up; it has high speed corners and high speed straights. After the steps we made in Spa, I’m confident we will have a progressive weekend in Italy too.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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24 comments on “Boullier still aiming to beat Mercedes”

  1. bosyber
    7th September 2011, 15:34

    I do think Boullier should admit that their good qualifying Spa isn’t only the result of changing drivers but also from finally having had a real update again, that was announced already over two months ago. Not to mention a lack of badgering Heidfeld. But Senna did show their regained pace very well, so that looks hopeful.

    It is a pity for Renault that Mercedes has been getting to grips with the properties and limits of their W02 and has been getting solid results recently, something for which there is no clear reason to expect them to suddenly lose that confidence. So I really don’t see Renault regain that WCC position. But good for them for keeping a ambitious aim for this year.

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      Icthyes (@icthyes)
      7th September 2011, 15:39

      I do think Boullier should admit that their good qualifying Spa isn’t only the result of changing drivers but also from finally having had a real update again

      Think of the PR!

      I don’t see Renault making up any ground this weekend, but it remains at something like 30-40 points after Monza then they’ll have an outside chance, especially as Mercedes probably won’t be working on their car anymore.

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        BasCB (@bascb)
        7th September 2011, 21:42

        As Mercedes does seem to have gotten a bit of a grip on things, the chances of outscoring them by that margin seems a very tough call for Renault.

        But with the extra cash from Senna/Brazil and their new update working, i am looking forward to them giving it a shot instead of being cought by FI themselves!

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          MaroonJack (@maroonjack)
          8th September 2011, 6:36

          I think it would be smarter to spend that extra money on 2012 car.

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    David-A (@david-a)
    7th September 2011, 15:35

    Good to aim high, but with Bruno and Vitaly, it “ain’t gonna” happen.

    1. slr
      7th September 2011, 15:39

      I agree, this is wishful thinking from Boullier.

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        Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
        8th September 2011, 4:13

        It might be possible. They need 31 points to pass Mercedes. Assuming Mercedes score no points for the rest of the season, Petrov and Senna only need to score five points between them at every race. And while the Mercedes is good in a straight line, Monza is the only circuit where they’re really going to have the advantage – and I think they’ll be noticeably weak in Singapore, Japan and Brazil. And there are parts of the circuit in South Korea, India and Abu Dhabi that will not favour them at all.

        1. vjanik
          8th September 2011, 12:59

          Thats a big assumption to make. What would need to happen for Mercedes not to score?

          Renault have only outscored Mercedes in three races so far.

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      Fixy (@)
      8th September 2011, 10:25

      I think Senna’s qualifying at Spa is over-looked by the team and they have great hopes, but thinking positive can help anyway.

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        Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
        8th September 2011, 10:35

        Do you mean overlooked or overrated?

  3. Tom
    7th September 2011, 16:06

    They should be more concerned about Sauber or Force India challenging them for 6th in the Championship.

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      Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
      8th September 2011, 4:17

      I think Sauber and Force India will be too busy squabbling among themselves to challenge Renault. Sauber are on the backslide, but they’ll want to consolidate their position. Force India are just three points adrift, so it’s going to be tight. Both of them are thirty points behind Renault (who are thirty points adrift of Mercedes themselves), so as long as Renault pressure Mercedes, they should be safe from Force India and Sauber.

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    Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
    7th September 2011, 16:07

    highly unlikely to happen, but you never know.

  5. Robbie
    7th September 2011, 16:21

    Agreed, folks…while it might happen that Renault will improve somewhat with an upgrade and a different ‘mood’ on the team, they still have to actually get past the Mercs, and that doesn’t seem likely…Merc will either continue to increase their lead over Renault or at least maintain it, those being imho the only two options…can’t say I blame Boullier for saying this though…

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    smifaye (@)
    7th September 2011, 17:14

    This whole “rejuvinated” Renault stinks of PR to me. They are putting on a brave face to make sure that Bruno Senna’s sponsors signed and stuck around. Spa wasn’t a great weekend and if Nick Heidfeld was in the car I fear it would be a completely different story.

    Renault started well and have just gone completely backwards which is such a shame as I was really glad to see them with two podiums after the first two races.

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      Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
      8th September 2011, 7:26

      This whole “rejuvinated” Renault stinks of PR to me.</blockquote.
      Too many people here are a bit too cynical for my tastes – why does everyone assume that Renault only took Senna on-board for the money? After all, Gillette was the only new sponsor on the car at Spa, with OGX, Embratel and Auden McKenzie only joining up afterwards. I find this particularly telling since Embratel was Senna's personal sponsor and appeared on the Hispania F110 last year. The fact that they weren't there in Belgium suggests that they were waiting to see how Senna would go before committing to anything. Furthermore, none of the sponsors have a major presence, which means that they are not paying copious amounts of money to the team. That money might help Renault, but it certainly won't be enough to make significant differences.

      Furthermore, Renault had one of their strongest showings of the year at Spa. Both cars were in Q3 again, and Petrov was challenging Sutil for seventh when his brakes went. They've got two more upgrades for the car – the Monza special and another one in Singapore to last the rest of the year – so they're obviously feeling encouraged, especially given that they'd been unhappy with Heidfeld for a while before they dropped him.

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        MaroonJack (@maroonjack)
        8th September 2011, 8:32

        Did Senna seriously impress you at Spa? I really don’t understand the praise that he’s getting. As a Renault fan I think the team is heading in the wrong direction.

        As far as Spa being one of their strongest showings… Well, they were on podium in Melbourne and Sepang, so Spa must be behind that. In Turkey both drivers finished in the points, 7th and 8th, so that was definitely better than Spa. Canada, with both drivers in Q3 and Vitaly finishing 5th, was also better. At best you could say Spa was somewhere in the middle… and when you look at the points, then Spa is 4 points below their average.

        I hope that new upgrades will allow them to keep up with Mercedes, but I don’t think they will be able to catch them in WCC. We can’t just assume that Merc won’t score points for the rest of the season.

  7. Klaas
    7th September 2011, 17:29

    The headlines should go “Boullier still dreaming to beat Mercedes”. No way it’s gonna happen – not with this car, not with these drivers. This was spoken for the new sponsors.
    Anyways thought Boullier was a bit deluded and that Renault would do much better with Briatore as team principal.

  8. TFLB
    7th September 2011, 20:33

    They should be looking behind themselves to Force India instead of targeting Mercedes.

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      AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
      7th September 2011, 22:32

      Well, by looking to beat Mercedes it implies they will also beat Force India. Plus, it doesn’t sound too good to just go on the defensive.

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      Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
      8th September 2011, 7:20

      Hasn’t anyone here heard the expression that “the best defence is a good offence”. Sure, Renault at 30 points behind Mercedes. But they’re also 30 points ahead of Force India. They’ve got a nice little buffer going, and so long as they attack Mercedes, they should be able to defend against Force India.

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    wasiF1 (@wasif1)
    8th September 2011, 2:45

    I don’t think that Renault can,Mercedes have improved a lot since Spain & they have a better driver line up then Renault.

  10. Bäremans
    8th September 2011, 10:46

    Well, as Whitmarsh always sais: if it’s mathematically still possible, it still IS possible and we keep aiming for it.

    Renault is not going to beat Mercedes this season under normal conditions. If Mercedes has trouble-free races, Renault will not succeed in more than keeping up. Perhaps we still get to see nice battles for positions from P5 to P10. And, as long as you’re in a battle, one never knows.
    But I don’t think Renault will be taking over P5-6 and push Mercedes back to P7 and beyond.

  11. Kory Porrazzo
    2nd April 2012, 5:30

    There is perceptibly a Tim Tebow Jets Jersey bundle to identify about this. I feel you made Peyton Manning Broncos Jersey certain good points in features also.

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