Sunday: Renault is not satisfied and expects progress!

Vitaly Petrov – 10th:

« Another point scored today. But we really need to analyze precisely why we were losing places like that and why we didn’t pit earlier to fight with the leading group. I got a good start and fought well, especially with Jenson (Button) and Michael (Schumacher). But the downside is that Force India and Sauber finished ahead of us. We need to find the explanation and fix it as soon as possible. We must now focus our energies on Hungary and score some points there before the summer break. »

Nick Heidfeld – Retirement:

At the start, I got squeezed and in the second turn, I was sandwiched. Arriving at the third turn, Paul di Resta was on the outside. I locked my front wheels to avoid him, but I could only slide and hit him because there was no room to pass. Then, I attacked full throttle to climb back and overtook several cars to eventually find myself behind Sébastien Buemi. He was blocking the left side of the track, as he has the right to do, but I moved to his right and at that moment he came back towards me. He must have known I was there. I was much faster than him and was about to overtake him. He didn’t leave me any room and pushed me onto the grass. After that, there was nothing I could do. The accident had become inevitable. It’s never pleasant to be airborne in these cars and it could have been dangerous.

Eric Boullier – Director:

Obviously, it’s a disappointing day for us. Our qualification yesterday was decent, marking a good step forward after Silverstone and we were gearing up for a good battle for points starting 9th and 11th. First, Nick was unlucky. After dropping back to 22nd, he was fighting his way back up. Back in 16th position, he tried to overtake Sébastien (Buemi), but was taken off the track and his race ended there. Vitaly also had a tough race but persevered and finished 10th. Our goal is to achieve better results than today, but that being said, one point is better than none and now we need to focus on improving quickly for Budapest.

James Allison – Technical Director

A disappointing race, with Nick retiring just after the start, which meant a very complicated race anyway. Vitaly scores a point but it’s less than what we thought possible and hoped for. We are not really where we hoped to be at the end of the weekend, and we need to work hard to make the car faster, because that’s where the points will come from. We will make some minor changes to the R31 for Budapest, but bigger changes will come in the following races.

Ricardo Penteado – Engine Chief LRGP, Renault Sport F1:

Finding the right engine settings for the Nürburgring can be complicated, given the changes in conditions both on the track and with the weather. We had a decent balance today, and Vitaly had a good race to score another point. That’s important for us to stay in contact with Mercedes in the constructors’ championship. Nick could have scored several points as well, but the accident with Buemi is unfortunate. The Hungaroring is coming up in a week, and its demands are very different for the engine. We will make every effort to finish the first part of the season on a high note.

According to a statement from Lotus Renault GP