UpdateF1 >> Formula 1 News > Sunday quotes: Renault

Must improve

Fernando Alonso (P10): "The race was difficult, as I had expected. Our qualifying yesterday in Q3 had been a big surprise, but we knew that our race pace would not allow us to do much better in the race. We are still missing some speed but we hope to improve in Barcelona."

Nelson Piquet (DNF): "I made a good start and the car was working well, then I suffered a gearbox problem. I tried to continue but it became dangerous and my engineers asked me to retire so that we would avoid a penalty in the next race. The result is not what we wanted, but I was able to learn a lot again this weekend and that is what I need to keep doing. I will now try to prepare as best I can for the next race, and try to make the most of the next test in Barcelona in ten days time."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: "This hasn't been a satisfactory race for the team, especially in terms of our reliability with Nelson retiring on lap 41 with a gearbox problem, although fortunately we will not incur a penalty at the next race. Fernando's race was difficult as he struggled with a damaged car after an incident with Hamilton early in the race. Our focus now is on the Spanish Grand Prix and the developments coming for the next test in Barcelona. We need to provide a better package for our drivers."

Flavio Briatore, Managing Director: "Fernando's race was compromised at the beginning when he was hit by Hamilton. After that he did all that he could, despite a damaged car. However, we are aware that we must improve our performance level. As for Nelson, he suffered with poor reliability, although he had a good start to the race. This is therefore a weekend to forget as far as we are concerned, and we must continue working hard with our intensive development programme at the next test in Barcelona."

Written: Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:00:51