Not a good day for Red Bull
Despite a pre-race visit from Aussie diva Kylie Minogue, our duo definitely didn't get to sing her biggest hit I should be so lucky in the first race of the season…Mark Webber, who started 7th on the grid, but unfortunately only finished 13th. Team mate David Coulthard collided with Alexander Wurz and had to retire.
David Coulthard, (Finish Position DNF, Start Position: 18th)
"I tried to have a go down the inside of Alex Wurz's car at Turn three, but I was too far back and screwed it up. I went for the pass, but it was over optimistic on my part. The collision was my fault, not Alex's, so apologies to him for that."
Mark Webber, (Finish Position 13th, Start Position: 7th)
"It was tough race today, the first pit stop didn't go very well and when I went back out, I was having trouble maintaining my speed going into the corners. I wasn't able to get the pace back that I'd had in the first stint, which was very frustrating. Nothing really went right today, but that's the game we're in, some days give you a good feeling and the next day it isn't so easy."
Christian Horner "It's a shame for Mark not to score points as he was driving well. Unfortunately, his car had a fuel flap problem, which cost him a lot of time at his first stop and then it stuck open, which affected his car's aerodynamic performance. It's a shame, as he deserved a couple of points out of the weekend. David was always looking to make up ground from a low grid position. He was making good progress and his lap times looked respectable, but an optimistic move on Wurz unfortunately resulted in his retirement."
Fabrice Lom, Renault Principal Engineer, Track Support
"I think that we concluded our first Grand Prix weekend on a positive note. We looked quite competitive, especially in the first stint. In spite of the incident with David, we were pleased to see Mark's car make it to the finish. The chassis and engine teams have worked very hard during the past few weeks and I truly
believe this is a promising start. We now look forward to Malaysia where we hope to continue our progress."