A shame to end on a low note - Permane

The ING Renault Formula 1 Team’s chief race engineer, Alan Permane, talks about Giancarlo Fisichella’s and Heikki Kovalainen’s Brazilian race, which both ended prematurely yesterday afternoon at Interlagos.

“It was just one of those days. Both our drivers had a problem on the first lap. Giancarlo was hit in the first corner; we think it was by Tonio Liuzzi’s Toro Rosso and it damaged his diffuser. Then, Sakon Yamamoto’s Spyker ran into him when he rejoined the track on lap 2 and that put an end to his race. Heikki was the victim of a chain reaction also in the first corner. Ralf Schumacher pushed him off the track and when he rejoined he immediately realised that he had a puncture. He covered the whole of the first lap with a flat tyre.”

“Yes. Heikki was on the pace but he was too far back. When he pitted after the first lap we put on the hard compound and filled the car with fuel. In those circumstances his performance was pretty good. Unfortunately, a technical problem caused him to have a pretty big accident halfway through the race. It’s disappointing.”

“There are a number of tests in the weeks ahead. Their main objective will be to test electronics, a sector that is undergoing major changes for next season. After that we’ll be concentrating on the R28. The figures from the wind tunnel are already very encouraging and our goal is to be back at the front again. The 2007 season has been a difficult one, but we’re determined to bounce back from it.”