Fernando Alonso

Fernando, two wins and two second places, including last race in Imola. Were you pleased after that result?Absolutely. I went there saying that second would be a good result for me, because Ferrari have always been strong in Imola. They were competitive, like we expected, but I think that in the race, the Renault was very close in performance – and maybe even a bit quicker in race conditions. So far, I have had perfect reliability this season, and we are working hard to make sure that continues – while adding performance as well. This has been a dream start for me, because there is such a high level of competition in the field. I hope it will continue!

Looking at the Nürburgring, what are the important characteristics at that track?I think the most important thing is that you need good traction. There are a lot of slow corners, which means lots of hard acceleration out of the turns. With the V8 engine, this will be less of a problem. That's because we have less power this year, so the car is not so much on the limit in terms of the traction. But that is the area we always concentrate on for this circuit, as well as finding a good balance. And we have already seen that the R26 is very strong in both those areas.

Conditions can often be cold at the Nürburgring. Will that be a worry for tyre performance, like we saw in Melbourne where people struggled?Honestly, I don't think it will be a problem for us. In Australia, the car was really good in cold conditions and using its tyres well. The same was true in the winter: when it was cold, we were very competitive. So if the conditions are similar at the Nürburgring, it will be good for us.

Are you optimistic ahead of this race?I am expecting a big fight again. I think the level of competition is much closer than the championship standings suggest, and there will be some big challengers. The Michelin tyres have performed very consistently at every circuit this year, and they have done a great job. It will be the same in Germany, I am sure, so we will see a big push from McLaren-Mercedes at their home race, running on the same Michelin tyres as us...

And how about Ferrari and Michael Schumacher?What we don't know at the moment is how consistent Ferrari will be. So far, they have been strong at the same tracks as in 2005, and not so good at others. It is too early to say if it will be the same this year, so we can't write them off – and Michael is racing in front of his people too. We must concentrate on our job though, at Renault. I have the new B spec RS26 engine, which is a good step forward, and there are new developments on the car at every race. So I am sure we can be fighting for the win again on Sunday afternoon.

Giancarlo Fisichella

Giancarlo, Imola was a disappointment for you… what happened?I pushed as hard as possible in the race but from eleventh [his qualifying position], there was not so much I could do. The car was very heavy in the first stint and difficult to drive. The handling came back in the next stints – but there is only so much you can do with the strategy at Imola, and it is hard to make up places. I got stuck behind Barrichello at one point but even so, nearly got sixth place. It is frustrating, but we know we lost the chance of a good finish in qualifying. We made some mistakes, and it won't happen again.

How hard is it to bounce back from a race like that, where you don't reach your potential? It must be massively frustrating…Of course. But you have to keep your concentration, and your motivation. If you lose that, you cannot go on. Behind me, there is a team working at the maximum to support both of the drivers, and giving us the same possibility to win. So I want to win for them as well, to pay back their hard work and their commitment.

Going to the Nürburgring often means rain… is that a worry for you?Yeah, that's true – it can be cold and raining too, at some point in the weekend and sometimes in the race. But I don't think it's a problem because I feel very comfortable in the conditions and my smooth style works well in the wet. Michelin made a big step on their intermediate and wet tyres last year, so rain won't be a worry for me or the team.

The Nürburgring looks like a ‘complete' circuit with a bit of everything – is that accurate?It is a good circuit, for sure, and one that I enjoy driving. There are a few slow-speed corners, like turns 1 and 6. You have a slow-speed chicane where you jump on the kerbs and the car feels nervous. There are quick curves, some of them you have to attack aggressively, and they link together so you need to get a perfect line to be quick. It is an interesting circuit, and it should suit the R26.

So what are your predictions for the race…?I think we will be right up at the front. I still have another race on the B spec engine, but we have had excellent reliability on it, so we know the performance will be there. The car was very quick last year at this track – I went from the pit-lane to P6 in the race, so we had strong pace and the Michelin tyres worked well. The R26 will be quick, like it has been at all the circuits. I am sure the competition will be strong too, from the usual teams. But we will fighting for the podium, and to score the maximum points possible.

European GP Tech File

Chassis

The Nürburgring has a reputation as a ‘complete' circuit: it includes high speed corners, medium-speed chicanes that upset the car balance and some very slow corners with high traction demands. The R26 will need to meet all of these challenges this weekend.

Aerodynamics: The Nürburgring is one of the highest-downforce circuits of the season. We usually find ourselves trying to control understeer at this circuit, except perhaps in turn 8 where the car is always nervous. However, the high downforce level allows us to compensate for that, and make the car more driveable, and stable during the changes of direction and under braking.

Tyres: Tyre choice is always tricky here owing to the variable weather conditions, and the fact that temperatures can be very cool. As always, we will be looking to find the best compromise between a tyre soft enough to give good single lap performance but which may risk some graining, and a harder tyre that will last well, but not offer the same performance. Generally, rather than taking the risk of a hard prime and a soft option, we choose two tyres according to possible weather conditions, with for example a prime for cooler conditions and an option in case the temperatures are higher.

Braking: The brakes will not be a problem at this circuit. We will monitor them closely, but there is no reason to think that wear levels on the discs and pads would be abnormally high, as the braking zones are not particularly severe.

Engine

Atmospheric pressure: Located in the Eifel mountains, the Nürburgring is at an altitude of roughly 500m above sea level. The lower air density means the engine generates less power (approximately 5%) but also reduces the loads on some parts such as the pistons.

Circuit configuration: The layout of the Nürburgring does not contain any intrinsically severe demands for the engines. The flowing layout includes elevation changes which make the circuit enjoyable for the drivers, but the high number of corners means the time spent at full throttle is just 66% of the lap. The engine needs to pull strongly from low revs to launch well out of the slow corners, but there are no particularly long straights, with the longest single period at full throttle being just 10s, a low value for the season.

Over-revving: While the layout of the Nürburgring is not intrinsically severe, the circuit is bumpy in a number of places, notably turns 4, 7 and the chicane at turns 13/14. If the drivers take the wrong line, this can potentially damage the engine by either excessive use of the limiter, or over-revving. It is a point that is studied with some care during practice to avoid any problems in qualifying or the race.

Bob Bell, Chassis Technical Director

Bob, the Renault F1 Team has so far scored 51 points of a possible 72 in the world championship – a scoring rate of 71%. How pleased are you after four races?We are delighted with our results so far, but I think the points tally is only part of the story. We are plainly in a very strong position, and in terms of pure competitiveness, I think we are stronger at this stages than we were in 2005.

What was the mood after Imola, having come second to Ferrari?It was a contrast to last year, when we won. In 2005, the team was on a high after four consecutive wins, but there was a real concern about the tyres after that race. This year, Michelin did a strong job, and those worries were not there. The performance of the car in the race, was such that we were not at a disadvantage relative to our competitors. We are in better shape, and the mood reflects that.Other teams have been talking a lot about development, while Renault seems to have been rather discreet in this area. How is the development going?We are doing the normal things, and putting new parts on the car at every race. The work at the factory is diligent, the level of performance is increasing every weekend. The lap-times show that, but equally, we are not taking any advantage for granted.

This is the second year of stable regulations – is it harder to find improvements?Yes, and I think we are seeing that up and down the grid. You can see in the visual evolution of all the cars, that people are finding it harder to make big gains, and there are more small developments going on the cars. That's normal when the regulations are stable.

Yet the lap speeds are similar to last year with 200 bhp less, much of which is down to the tyres. After seeing Ferrari bounce back in Imola, what is your opinion on the balance of power between the tyre manufacturers?Overall, I think the advantage will remain with Michelin this year. Ferrari are clearly very quick, and you can never write off Michael or the team. They will be pushing us all year long. But from the next races, I expect the balance to swing back in Michelin's favour.

Looking at the R26, how did the team maintain its advantage from 2005The R26 is a logical development of last year's car, and we chipped away at the basic factors that improve performance: we made parts lighter and stiffer, and tried to improve the driveability too. We have pushed our processes hard, to improve the efficiency of the wind-tunnel. But there's no magic to it. You have to work hard on the basics, and take no advantage for granted.

Yet the engine is brand new. Many teams spoke of a radical change from the engine, yet at Renault, the emphasis was on continuity…Viry had a very calm approach to the new engine regulations, and they have produced an excellent engine. There was no sea change from V10 to V8, just a rational approach to the engineering challenge. It was a matter-of-fact programme that has delivered the results we wanted.

So what is the secret of the R26?I am not sure there is one! What we do have, though, is a very benign, consistent car. It was something we concentrated on from 2004 to 2005, and have built on again this year. We work very hard to improve the feel and driveability of the car, to give the drivers total confidence to put it right on the limit, lap after lap. We know that with the R26, the level of performance on a single lap, can be maintained consistently on a 20-lap run.

Looking to the coming pair of races in Germany and Spain, what are you expecting?I suspect they will be Michelin races, and that our main competition will come from the Michelin teams, which means McLaren and Honda. We are not writing off Ferrari, of course, but we have tested strongly in Barcelona, and the car was very quick at the Nürburgring last year.

Finally, what will be the team's approach?We have to go out there and be aggressive. The car is strong and both drivers will be using the uprated B-spec engine. There is no change in our approach: we will be racing to win.