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Renault team boss Eric Boullier believes the team is enjoying improved fortunes this year primarily because of the positive attitude Robert Kubica instills throughout the organisation.

The Polish driver's arrival at the team this year has coincided with its rise from eighth in last year's constructors' standings to fighting Mercedes for fourth this year.

"The biggest strength is the devotion of the people," he told AUTOSPORT. "Competence, devotion and team spirit - this is very important, because it's when you can get the best from the people.

"The key for me is that the driver pushes the team because he wants to win, he clearly wants to do the best he can. That will change the scenario completely. For me that was the biggest weakness of the team last year, drivers not committed."

When talking about the team's slide from world title winners in 2005 and '06, Boullier was critical of Renault's previous management and of double world champion Fernando Alonso.

"We knew on paper the team was capable of winning championships, but also to be eighth last year," he said. "We started to understand where we could put the team back in a better position - and this is what we are doing now.

"I think there was a lack of management, a lack of guidance from the top management, a lack of clear objective. It's difficult to say, because I don't want to criticise anybody. [But] the drivers' situation... Alonso back at Renault after the McLaren situation, and being signed for Ferrari... a driver is a key asset for the team and if the driver is not motivated, not pushing the team enough... because he knew he was moving on.

"That was a key thing for me, and this is what Kubica did. He brought a lot of freshness and a lot of motivation. The lack of results was bringing the team down, because they are very devoted - so no results was clearly very demotivating for them. No management to guide the team, and drivers which were not easy to work with, very arrogant and not pushing the team in the right way. That was clearly the main two components of what was wrong."AUTOSPORT-F1