Renault needs to regroup and improve after dreadful British race
It was a disappointing afternoon for the ING Renault F1 Team at Silverstone as Nelson Piquet and Fernando Alonso finished in 12th and 14th places respectively. The team will now concentrate on the next race in Germany.
Fernando Alonso, R2904, P14
1st stint: 19 laps, hard tyres
2nd stint: 20 laps, hard tyres
3rd stint: 21 laps, soft tyres
Fernando: “Our chance to score points today was over at the start as we lost two positions and I was stuck behind Heidfeld who was heavy on fuel, which cost us a lot of time. Although I had some good fights around the track, I’m obviously frustrated with the poor result and it’s clear we need to improve on all fronts before Germany.”
Nelson Piquet, R2901, P12
1st stint: 29 laps, hard tyres
2nd stint: 32 laps, soft tyres
Nelson: “The overall result is disappointing today, but I think I had a solid race. It’s clear that we must continue to work hard and hopefully introduce some new upgrades in time for the next race in a few weeks’ time. I know that I can be competitive if the car is good, however it’s down to me to improve my performance in qualifying.”
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director: “Fernando’s poor start put him in a position that was hard to recover from and equally Nelson was caught in traffic, which made it difficult to see his true pace. The team switched Nelson to a one-stop strategy, which gained him four places, nevertheless we must improve the pace of the car very rapidly.”
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: “Our performance today did not meet the expectations that we had after qualifying and so we leave Silverstone disappointed. The poor start for Fernando compromised his race and losing so much time in his first stint made it impossible to score points. Nelson’s one-stop strategy worked well, but it’s clear that we weren’t quick enough today. We need to regroup and improve before Germany.”
Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations: “Unfortunately we just weren’t fast enough today. We didn’t have a great start to the race, which meant we were caught in traffic, and with the strategies we were running that made it difficult to move forward. Both drivers drove well and gave their maximum. We must now concentrate on the next race in Germany.”
