Robert Kubica is looking to achieve the R30’s full potential in Australia after a disappointing start to the season in Bahrain where he was blinded by smoke coming from Mark Webber’s Red Bull.
Kubica is confident the Renault can perform around the low-grip Albert Park after Bahrain confirmed his suspicions that the car has a strong basis to develop upon.
“The weekend in Bahrain basically confirmed the feelings I had in Valencia at the first test, in terms of where the car is strong and where we can still improve.
“The car has a lot of strengths and we are working hard to get even better in what we do well, and improve in the areas where we are less strong,” Kubica said.
Like McLaren, Kubica thinks the Renault will perform better around the Melbourne street circuit.
“Overall, before the start of the season, I had the feeling that Melbourne would be a better circuit for us than Bahrain. Now that we have seen the other cars running and collected more information about where we stand, I think even more that it will be a good circuit for us.
“The circuit is very low grip at the start of the weekend, and you need good mechanical grip, braking stability and ride, so I hope we can put in a strong performance and achieve the car’s full potential.”
Renault’s chief engineer, Alan Permane also thinks Australia will suit the R30, adding: “Albert Park is a bumpy track and our car rides the bumps well. We saw that in Bahrain where Robert and Vitaly were very competitive in the new section of track, which was very bumpy.”
