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Double trouble - Renault admit lack of performance as the 2011 season nears its end

Published by Christine

Renault admit lack of performance as the 2011 season nears its end
Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic

Renault struggled through a very tough race weekend in Singapore, and found the results lacking in the race as well. Vitaly Petrov, coming off the back of a first lap retirement in Monza, failed to get through the first session of qualifying, leaving him with an 18th place grid slot. Bruno Senna did mildly better, securing himself 15th place.

The race unfolded in a similar manner, with both drivers fighting the car for pace, and sitting at the rear of the mid-field runners. They finished 15th and 17th, with Heikki Kovalainen in the Lotus sandwiched between them.

Immediately after the race, Petrov said: "We have to pull together and look at why the car isn't performing at circuits such as this. We haven't performed at our usual level today, but the final five venues are all places where the R31 should perform better."

The team have looked into it and concluded that their front facing exhaust design, whilst innovative, was costing them in terms of downforce. They're looking ahead to next year's car and hoping to fix it, but also keeping their fingers crossed that the end of the season will look a little bit more like the start.