The Singapore Grand Prix is tough on brakes, this being said Bob Bell believes this shouldn’t stop Renault Sport putting on an reasonable show this weekend.
Renault had a difficult Italian Grand Prix after Kevin Magnussen finished in seventeenth. The Dane was forced to avoid the spinning Felipe Nasr after he clashed with Jolyon Palmer on lap two. Palmer came off worse as he had to retire from the Grand Prix after the damage he sustained.
“Singapore’s a night race on a street course with 23 corners surrounded by a lot of barriers,” said Bell. “It’s a race where drivers really have to be on their mettle.
“It’s tough for everyone as it’s hot and humid. For the drivers, it’s a long race on a bumpy circuit. It’s tough on brakes and requires high downforce. But that said, there’s nothing to say that we shouldn’t put on a reasonable show.
The Marina Bay is a street circuit which means over the course of the weekend, the track conditions improve. Bell believes Renault need to come to Singapore prepared so drivers can gain pace through their confidence and circuit evolution.
“Over the course of the weekend one of our biggest challenges is understanding the car with the moving target of track surface evolution,” added Bell.
“This is the same with any street course. You can find yourself chasing your tail somewhat. As it’s difficult to ascertain if any lap time improvement is from a change made to the car or just from the track surface improvement.
“For this reason you don’t want to change too much of the car set-up over the practice sessions. To have a strong Grand Prix you need to arrive with a good set-up out of the box so the drivers can gain pace through both their confidence and circuit evolution.”
