Petrov says Renault have made “a big step forward” with the R31.
| Bruno Senna | Vitaly Petrov | |
| Qualifying position | 7 | 10 |
| Qualifying time comparison (Q3) | 1’51.121 (-1.182) | 1’52.303 |
| Race position | 13 | 9 |
| Laps | 44/44 | 44/44 |
| Pit stops | 2 | 2 |
Renault drivers’ lap times throughout the race (in seconds):
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | |
| Bruno Senna | 150.814 | 138.885 | 118.273 | 117.372 | 116.921 | 116.697 | 116.116 | 119.938 | 121.977 | 116.074 | 116.614 | 116.259 | 138.386 | 144.312 | 142.158 | 168.108 | 117.297 | 116.933 | 117.199 | 118.64 | 120.319 | 128.062 | 116.642 | 114.646 | 115.172 | 114.322 | 115.546 | 114.973 | 114.376 | 117.036 | 114.874 | 113.921 | 114.016 | 113.794 | 113.775 | 114.16 | 113.752 | 113.891 | 113.585 | 114.005 | 115.141 | 114.263 | 114.151 | 114.483 |
| Vitaly Petrov | 125.844 | 117.717 | 117.35 | 117.759 | 118.504 | 116.483 | 117.106 | 117.211 | 117.759 | 117.055 | 119.043 | 121.51 | 145.01 | 145.398 | 172.138 | 167.811 | 118.019 | 115.495 | 114.701 | 114.302 | 114.695 | 114.906 | 114.345 | 114.288 | 114.243 | 115.17 | 114.504 | 114.211 | 114.557 | 118.376 | 127.74 | 114.518 | 112.608 | 112.432 | 112.506 | 113.454 | 113.66 | 113.361 | 113.045 | 113.207 | 113.116 | 113.944 | 113.838 | 123.871 |
Bruno Senna
Made his debut for the team in place of Nick Heidfeld. It didn’t get off to a great start as he crashed in first practice.
But a good run in qualifiyng put him seventh on the grid, in front of Petrov.
He undid that good work within a few hundred metres of the start, sliding hard into Jaime Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso.
“I would like to say sorry to Jaime for that,” said Senna.
“I made a mistake in the braking area, so that meant I slipped back and couldn’t compete where I wanted to. This left me quite lonely at the back for a while.”
He finished 13th, but chief race engine Alan Permane praised his first race weekend for the team: “Bruno slipped up on his first corner, and this damaged his first set of tyres which set the scene for the rest of his race.
“Looking over his weekend, he did a fantastic job yesterday and it was always going to be a very difficult indoctrination racing on these tyres in dry conditions for the first time at this circuit.”
Vitaly Petrov
Petrov had a spin in qualifying and lined up tenth on the grid.
He fell behind Kamui Kobayashi at the start and followed the Sauber through the opening stint.
Petrov pitted before the safety car came out which ultimately cost him places to Michael Schumacher and Adrian Sutil. And he was defenceless against Jenson Button who came past on lap 18.
He had to nurse a braking problem late in the race which caused a spin at the final corner on the last lap. That allowed Felipe Massa through for eighth, Petrov crossing the line in ninth.
However he was encouraged by the progress the team had made with the car: “I think we’ve made a big step forward with the car, and you can see that I was in top ten contention for all of the race – and close to the Mercedes – so we need to keep working in this direction.
“Our strategy was good, however we lost out on our top speed which meant I found it very difficult to overtake. The car was very strong on the corners, and we were very good on the brakes until I had issues at the end.
“For the final laps I was driving differently to compensate for the brake concerns, but unfortunately I spun right at the end as I had totally lost my front brakes.”
2011 Belgian Grand Prix
Image © Renault/LAT
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
29th August 2011, 10:32
I was so disappointed when Petrov’s brakes lasted forty-three of the forty-four laps. He was challenging Sutil for seventh when they started to go, and then he lost a dozen seconds on the final lap and Massa got him. At least he got two points, but it could have been six.
Hamish
29th August 2011, 12:48
Well if his brakes weren’t working properly, shouldn’t he have gone quicker?
slr
29th August 2011, 14:36
Of course not.
BasCB (@bascb)
29th August 2011, 16:38
that is a bit of a lame joke Hamish
Hamish
29th August 2011, 23:13
Thanks mate
Fixy (@)
29th August 2011, 15:05
If the race of both had been more “normal” the points got could have been more, but not more than Mercedes’.
bob80
29th August 2011, 15:18
Team should tell him to give up on Sutil much earlier and save brakes so he could retain 8th place.
1 of the 3
29th August 2011, 19:00
Petrov never stood a chance with Sutil. Sutil has answered his critics and has been racing quite well of late.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
30th August 2011, 10:09
Petrov spent ten laps within about half a second of Sutil – it was rubberbanding between about 0.4 and 0.6 – but couldn’t pass him because his brakes began to fade. If his brakes hadn’t faded, Sutil would have been mincemeat.
PieLighter (@pielighter)
29th August 2011, 10:46
Poor Bruno, all caused by inexperience in the car in dry conditions.
He’ll do better next race though.
bananarama
29th August 2011, 10:58
As we can see above, his pace in the race matched Petrovs, his laptimes were better for most of it even. The good qualifying was a nice surprise, but Senna was always very good in the wet. Lets see how it develops but for the moment I feel good about his performance (glad he didn’t let me down :-P).
MaroonJack (@maroonjack)
29th August 2011, 12:03
Huh? 27 lap times were better for Petrov, 17 were better for Senna (three of them behind the safety car). He didn’t let me down just because I didn’t expect much of him.
As for the whole team however, I am pretty disappointed. It’s hard not to be, when after making “a big step forward” they finish with just two points.
“You can see that I was in top ten contention for all of the race”. Well, congratulations. Top ten… So that’s what we’re aiming for right now? :/
bananarama
29th August 2011, 12:36
Yeah, I confused the colors. I am still confident Senna can do fine.
unocv12
29th August 2011, 12:54
17 laps faster out of 44 in your first race in a team without testing isn’t exactly a bad result. Especially when he outqualified his teammate.
If with no testing, in the wet at Spa he can outqualify and then the next day outpace his team more than 1/3 of the time. And the rest of it be about similiar, in his first race, I think that’s a big plus for Senna.
+2 for Qualifying (1 for beating teammate, 1 for wet spa)
+1 for race (for mostly mathcing or close to teammate).
He made 1 mistake and that was all in his first GP quali and race in the renault. Not bad…
MaroonJack (@maroonjack)
29th August 2011, 13:24
@unocv12 Outpaced? By that definition he was “outpaced” by Petrov 2/3 of the time. I’m not hating on the guy, but I don’t get the praise he’s getting. Bruno didn’t show anything spectacular in F1 so far. His achievements prior to F1 are also unimpressive, compared to Hulkenberg or Grosjean, for example.
Renault has basically two paid drivers at the moment and they are way behind when it comes to car development. The situation is far from ideal, so I don’t get why people are so upbeat about it.
bob80
29th August 2011, 15:24
Petrov will dominate Senna in final races. Q3 on last Saturday doesn’t mean much.
matt90 (@matt90)
29th August 2011, 18:39
@MaroonJack
Surely if Senna’s pre-F1 results are unimpressive so are half the field’s. 2nd in GP2 is better than some managed.
Ben Curly (@ben-curly)
29th August 2011, 19:27
@matt90 Wasn’t I clear enough when I said “compared to Hulkenberg or Grosjean”? These are two drivers who in my opinion are much more deserving of being in F1, than both Petrov or Senna. Unfortunately they don’t have big money or big sponsors behind their backs.
MaroonJack (@maroonjack)
29th August 2011, 19:31
The last comment was mine. I didn’t notice that my father was logged in. Sorry about that.
SimBri
29th August 2011, 10:58
Was this Bruno’s first ever race finishing on the lead lap? He didn’t do that badly after his crash, in the end he only finished 21 seconds behind his team mate. Looking forward to seeing what he can do at Monza.
Mike
29th August 2011, 15:24
Must have been, the long lap certainly didn’t hurt either.
I’m quietly impressed. But like Ricciardo. If he’s to cement his place in F1 he needs to (in time) overcome his team mate.
BasCB (@bascb)
29th August 2011, 16:41
I agree with you, that Senna supprised very positively, despite that cock up at the start.
But he has a good excuse of it, while an experienced hand like Glock did just about the same!
Dan_the_McLaren_fan (@dan_the_mclaren_fan)
29th August 2011, 11:49
What does buoyed mean?
MaroonJack (@maroonjack)
29th August 2011, 12:06
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=buoyed
Steph (@)
29th August 2011, 12:13
Like Petrov is uplifted by the updates. Just think of a buoy in the water. His hopes were sinking before but now he’s happier and more confident with the R31 :P
Dan_the_McLaren_fan (@dan_the_mclaren_fan)
29th August 2011, 17:34
Ok thanks! :)
Steph (@)
29th August 2011, 12:18
Call me crazy and paranoid but that’s at least the third apology I’ve read/heard this weekend from the drivers and although they’ve all had a basis I can’t help but wonder if they’re all a slight dig at another driver who got into a bit of bother this weekend and didn’t seem apologetic.
I thought Bruno was great this weekend. His early mistake was completely understandable given how he was chucked into the R31 and he’s a bit race rusty. The most important thing was his pace; a driver can calm down and crash less but it’s often harder for them to find speed. Bruno really showed great calm and maturity and was able to show off some of his talent which had been in doubt in a way he just couldn’t in the HRT.
I was really sorry for Petrov and his brake problem as he could have got a few more points but just getting the car to the end was the best thing.
BasCB (@bascb)
29th August 2011, 16:43
Hi Steph, new avatar?
I agree with you that both Renaults did fine, with Senna very positively supprising with his speed and maturity in taking the car home without any further panic moments.
Steph (@)
29th August 2011, 19:19
Yep but I’m not keeping it. Finding a one I like is a nightmare. I hope Senna shows good pace at Monza too. It’ll be great to show it wasn’t just a one off
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
30th August 2011, 21:20
Agree with your second paragraph, Steph.
I made a comment earlier today, in the round-up, about Boullier’s lack of perspective with Senna’s situation. He was happy with his position but did make a comment about him having to improve next time round. Not asking the Earth but that guy is just rubbing me up the wrong way at the moment, he seems to expect the impossible at times. Anyway, my point is it’s good to see one of the Renault guys heaping a bit more praise on Senna :D
Journeyer (@journeyer)
29th August 2011, 23:35
They were happy with their updates, but they continued giving up ground to Mercedes in the WCC. Schumacher is now ahead of Petrov and Heidfeld, while the constructors gap now stands at 30 points. Long way to go yet, but I think that unless Mercedes have a nightmare race there somewhere, Renault won’t catch them.