I don't get it too, but sounds optimistic

we shall start drinking than!

A fully functional f-duct would be something to savour for both Spa & Monza

They might as well just keep it on. It's not like it costs time.

Robert Kubica, Renault
2009 Qualifying - 5th, 2009 Race - 4th
“Spa is quite different to all the other circuits we run at because, although we use lower downforce levels similar to Canada, this circuit has many more high-speed corners. That makes it tricky to balance the downforce level with getting good top speed, which you need because there are two very long sections at the start and end of the lap, where you spend a long time at full throttle. Often, this is a circuit that throws up some surprises, and suddenly cars that haven't been quick all year can be good in Spa. From the team's point of view, we will be running the F-duct for the first time this weekend, and we hope it will work straight away so that we have as much practice time as possible to extract the maximum performance from this system. We have seen a tendency for cars running the F-duct to use higher downforce levels than normal, because they can stall the rear wing and still generate good top speed. I think that will change the approach to Spa, too, because teams will be able to run quite a lot of downforce and still achieve good top speed. Although this is a circuit we all like driving on, it's still a track where car performance is very important. It's definitely a circuit all the drivers enjoy and we all look forward to driving there. It's a bit different to the other circuits: we have this combination of low downforce levels and high-speed corners, there are a lot of corner combinations where they flow from one exit to the entry of the next and the circuit is quite wide so you can choose different lines. It's a good circuit for racing, too, because the long straights can give good chances to overtake, and that can make the races quite interesting.”

Vitaly Petrov, Renault
2009 Qualifying - n/a, 2009 Race - n/a
"I took some holiday to relax and saw my family and friends. Then I did some sports: waterskiing, jet-skiing and football, just to have some fun. It was nice to have a break and get refreshed, but I'm always ready to get back in the car. I also spent some time looking over videos of old races this year to analyse some things - the good and the bad - to see what I could learn and where I can improve. Spa is a circuit I know quite well from my GP2 experience and I'm happy to be going back there. For the set-up, it's really important to have a very good aerodynamic balance because the track has so many high-speed corners and you need good stability in the corners. Hopefully we will have our F-duct working well for this weekend so that we can be as competitive as we were in Budapest, even though Spa is a circuit with completely different characteristics. Anything is possible. If everything comes together: me, the car, and the team, the results will come as well. But we still have to wait and see how the F-duct works in free practice and how the car behaves in the high-speed corners. We know our car is already quite stable in the fast corners, but it's difficult to match the Red Bulls and the Ferraris. So it's difficult to know what to expect, but we will try our best.”

Probably it's still too early to be overoptimistic but I believe the odds are in our favour to surpass Mercedes GP in championship in 2-3 race time. In fact with properly working F-duct and the car performing well overall I think is possible to achieve this as fast as in Spa. That of course provided they've ( Merc ) really switched over to 2011 project. Anyway I can't wait to watch FP

no mastercard ?

Well, I think that it is better to expect a massive struggle with pace of the car (thanks to this so-called 'developed F-Duct') and a tough fight with Sauber, Williams and FI, rather than surpassing Mercedes, just not to be disappointed . Nobody (even RB) was able to get it to work straight out of the box and I don't see any reason to believe that Renault will be an exception. I won't believe untill I see it

Anyone has any idea how does f duck influence performance on wet? I'm not talking about renault chances, just curious

* Posting pictures on the BB. Images whose copyright you do not own; that reside on other websites than autosport.com or yours, should be posted as a LINK only. If it's one odd image - the copyright holder and the website owner may overlook. But some here are overdoing it, posting hi-res images from other websites, which not only infringes their copyright but also hijacks their bandwidth. So use [url ][ /url] please.

@legardj Petrov believes Renault's first F duct could be worth at least half a second, according to simulations. Knows Spa and Monza. Good result?

It would be a huge boost. RF1PP has denied gains of 0,7s in their first version of F-duct so 0,5s could be possibile IMO. Although as we know F-duct working properly is quite tricky...

0.5 s ?!?!?!?! If true... it means that Renault could be faster than McLaren at Spa. But when they will be able to gain 0.7 s from it, it would be fantastic. Maybe some podiums in the ramaining 7 races.

Is it active or passive system?

There where rumours that Renault has hi-end passive system.

Seems like everyone is in the hunt for a Renault seat in 2011. I think Petrov has done enough to keep his drive.

active

and i dont believe in 0.5s gain. i would say it will be around 0.2-0.3s

No Mastercard and Kimi, but Snoras (and Petrov?) instead. I am not convinced if Renault is in a good company. Look here for example or if you can understand Russian, then here.

Of course these arrows and squares weren't drawn by me, but I haven't found better pictures.

yeah but looking at the second one I have an impression that chassis is very bulky there...