Fernando Alonso is not expecting to leap dramatically up the pecking order in Monaco with Renault confirming that they will only bring minor upgrades to the principality this weekend.
The double world champion has had a tough start to the season battling, in raw performance terms, in the mid-field, but collecting points nonetheless.
After climbing to fifth place at his home grand prix in Barcelona, Alonso, two-times a Monaco winner, is confident he can again challenge for points when the Formula One circus arrives in Monte Carlo this weekend – providing he can qualify strongly.
“The most important thing is to qualify as near to the front of the grid as possible because doing well in Monaco is all about having track position,” he said. “We therefore need to make sure we find clear space on the track in qualifying so we don’t get caught out by the traffic.”
” All the teams bring new packages to Monaco as the track is so unusual and we will use a special set-up to cope with the bumps and tight corners. In terms of a result, I think we can realistically hope to qualify in the top ten and aim for points in the race.”
After making significant modifications to the R29 in response to the FIA’s
decision to declare the split diffuser on the Brawn, Williams and Toyota cars legal, Renault will only make minor changes to their car for this weekend.
But Technical Director Bob Bell is confident that the team can take a step closer to the frontrunners.
“We have some minor updates because Monaco always needs a slightly different package,” confirmed Renault technical director Bob Bell. “It won’t be as big a step as we made in Barcelona, but we are still hopeful of adding some performance to the car to keep closing the gap to the leaders.”
