Renault Report – Worst Weekend Since Hungary 2006

The Renault team leaves China without any points, something that hadn’t happened since Hungary 2006, but they remain optimistic. The car performed well, and everything came down to the strategies used.

Kovalainen and Fisichella received heavy fuel loads, so they were in difficulty from the start and lost ground to their competitors, but they took advantage of improving conditions and a lightening car to catch up with the competitors. They finished behind the Red Bulls equipped with the same R27 engine in 9th and 11th place, but the French team, without Flavio Briatore — absent this weekend — hopes to do much better in Brazil.

Heikki Kovalainen – 9th

My start to the race was disastrous: I got off to a good start, gained three positions but had to deal with significant understeer, with very little grip. Consequently, four competitors passed me, and I lost a lot of time. We opted for dry tires at exactly the right moment, and then the car handled much better.

In the middle of the race, I lost time foolishly: Kimi lapped me; he was on old intermediate tires while I was on new dry tires. I couldn’t get out of the trajectory because the track was wet, and I didn’t want to have a collision with one of the leaders. I must have lost 7 or 8 seconds like that until I could finally overtake him. Then I pushed as hard as possible, but I couldn’t pass David; he was faster but just by a little. The car eventually performed well at the end of the race on the dry, but today’s race is the result of my mistake in yesterday’s qualifying; without that, I could have been in the top 10 and finished the race with a better result.

The team deserved a better result today, our car had the potential to be in the top 4, I’m sorry we weren’t able to achieve that. We must now focus on the next Grand Prix in Brazil and we really have nothing left to lose.

Giancarlo Fisichella – 11th

I really gave it my all today throughout the race, but I think we could have done better in terms of strategy. The car was very heavy and very inconsistent at the start, and we could have been much more efficient with a lighter car. We chose to switch to dry tires at the right time, then I knew I still had one more stop to make, so I really didn’t let up. It almost worked, we just ran out of time.

« It’s frustrating to finish in eleventh place today after overtaking so many competitors, especially since we were capable of doing better! »

Pat Symonds – Executive Director of Engineering

« The difficult and very changing track conditions coupled with our relatively disappointing grid positions promised us a complicated afternoon. We tried to approach this race from two different angles for the second half of the race, and they ended with very similar results in the end. We didn’t have the necessary pace at several critical moments of the weekend. However, our position in the Constructors is now sealed and we will strive to conclude the season on a positive note during the next weekend, which promises to be particularly exciting! »

Denis Chevrier – Head of Engine Operations on Track

« Time played a critical role in the strategic choices we made yesterday afternoon and again this morning; the changing and difficult track conditions ultimately meant it didn’t pay off. We were certainly not helped by our starting grid positions, and it is frustrating to finish so close to the points. We must now focus on the next race in Brazil, learn what we can from this race, and aim to finish the season reaching our full potential.