says , the plan is to be competing for a podium in three years and then fighting for the top spot in five years time .”
Many teams talk about success with little backing behind those words . For Renault , it may seem strange given the fact that the team has scored six points from nine races in 2016 , however , the team is committed to this cause and not financially strapped like others on the grid . They have the full backing of its fearsome leader Ghosn , along with Stoll and Vasseur .
That leads us to Vasseur . The name may be new to the Formula One grid , but it ’ s a household name in France and in the world of racing after 10 years of building his ART racing team . Perhaps the perfect individual to lead this young crop of drivers that include Denmark ’ s Kevin Magnussen , UK ’ s Jolyon Palmer , as well as a young core of test drivers that has a sprinkle of Canadian content in 20-year old Nicolas Latifi .
“ Being competitive and eventually winning is the No . 1 goal for the Renault Sport team .”
If anyone can get this group up to speed , it would be Vasseur , a man who developed the talents of Lewis Hamilton , Nico Rosberg , Sebastian Vettel , Valtteri Bottas , Nico Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean , to name a few . All of those drivers came up through ART in Formula3 , GP2 and GP3 . According to Vasseur , 60 per cent of the grid came through ART at some point .
Currently competing in GP2 , Latifi is still wet behind the ears , but is chomping at the bit to get into Renault ’ s new Formula One car . He has a future test planned later this year , but for now his only ride experience has been in a 2012 iteration at Silverstone . Right now , it ’ s all about the learning process and getting acclimated with the team mostly through observation and simulation .
Winning at GP2 is Latifi ’ s focus right now , and he took every extra
moment he had at the Canadian Grand Prix to soak in the atmosphere and environment . Picking the brains of Vasseur , Magnussen and Palmer will go a long way in becoming the first Canadian on a Formula One grid since Jacques Villeneuve in 2006 .
The Renault Sport team has a little of old and a little of new , but still a long way to go in terms of being competitive . One thing is for certain though , they have a clear vision in mind to not only gain knowledge for the track , but also for the street . The message is clear and distinct from the top down without any wavering whether it ’ s from Ghosn , Stoll or Vasseur .
Now , we just have to play the waitand-see game to see if Renault can be as successful on the track as they are at the dealerships . TDM thedriver . ca 29