Nick Chester explains what Renault needs at Silverstone

40

Nick Chester, the man in charge of chassis design and development at Renault, is expecting the French outfit to enjoy a smoother weekend than in Austria, which the team left empty-handed.

Renault's R.S.19 struggled in the hands of Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg around the short and undulating Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.

Both drivers reported strange issues impacting the behavior of their car in Austria, but the team's general assumption was that the problems were track specific. Hopefully, Silverstone will confirm that assessment.

Following cars in F1 'as bad as it's ever been' - Hulkenberg

"We don’t expect too many surprises for Silverstone other than learning about the new tarmac," Chester explained.

"You need good front end grip to deal with the high-speed corners and you can’t run too much downforce as there are some long straights.

"Setting up for Silverstone is always a challenge. Drivers do enjoy racing there as it is a varied circuit.

"The first sector is a mix of a high-speed run through Turns 1, 2 and 3 followed by a couple of slow hairpins and then the Wellington Straight.

"From there it’s more or less flat-out, especially the run through Maggots, Becketts and Chapel, which is particularly quick nowadays."

©Renault

After last year's British round of the MotoGP championship turned into a fiasco and was washed out, Silverstone undertook another resurfacing of its layout. The tarmac will therefore represent an unknown for F1's teams.

"Silverstone is an interesting circuit with its layout and make-up evolving over the last couple of years.

"Recently, it’s been resurfaced. We can’t be totally sure on what it’s going to be like until we go on track in FP1 on Friday.

"Knowing how smooth it is will influence how we set-up the car. In theory, it should be smoother and we’ll see how it settles down as the weekend goes on.

"It should improve session by session and it will make a massive difference to how the tyres operate."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.