Report: Renault Finds a Purpose: A Podium

Fernando Alonso secured his first podium of the season today in Singapore after a solid race. Romain Grosjean, unfortunately, had to retire early in the race due to brake issues.

It’s a beautiful race that the Spaniard led, taking advantage of the mistakes by Vettel and Rosberg ahead of him to gain positions. With his good qualifying position, it’s clearly a track that Alonso likes. He scores six new points tonight. As for Romain Grosjean, he will have to quickly regroup for the Japanese GP, which takes place in less than a week now!

Fernando Alonso – 3rd:

« It’s an excellent result for the team. It allows us to stay positive and put the past few weeks behind us. I had a good start and maintained a strong pace. Third place is the result of a good strategy and a solid race. Everyone at Enstone, at Viry, and here at the track did a fantastic job. It paid off today. We are now heading to Suzuka full of optimism. »

Romain Grosjean – Retirement:

« The weekend was very disappointing as the car experienced recurring brake problems. I thought they had been resolved before the race, but that wasn’t the case. I got off to a good start and my first lap was competitive, but I quickly felt that something was wrong with the brakes, and the team asked me to retire. It’s tough because I felt comfortable and was enjoying this track. Now, we’ll have to work hard and get the car ready for Suzuka next week. »

Jean-François Caubet – General Director:

« We dreamed of getting on the podium this weekend. When we arrived here, we thought it would certainly be impossible, but little by little, we stuck together. Moreover, the team prepared a race strategy that went perfectly. This result is extremely important for the Renault staff, for our partner TOTAL and our sponsors, and for the Renault F1 Team. We have shown that Renault still has the ability to compete at the highest level.

Bob Bell – Team Director

« The day was absolutely fantastic. Securing a podium is always a good thing, but this one has a special flavor after the events we’ve been through recently. It gives us the strength to move forward. Romain, unfortunately, had brake problems once again and had to retire quite early. He has tremendous potential and now needs to focus on the next race. The whole team will approach the last three Grand Prix with extra motivation thanks to this result, which shows that the team can aim for the podium. I hope this puts us in a good position for the home stretch of the championship. »

Rémi Taffin – Track Coordinator

« This weekend went smoothly on the engine side. We used the V8 engines from Monza and Spa, so they ran their third race and performed perfectly once again. During the race, we had only one small alert, but it was well managed and had no impact. Achieving a podium finish on such a demanding circuit shows that the team remains focused and knows how to react. It’s a very good result for us. »

According to a statement from the Renault F1 Team