Assessment: Renault was simply not up to the level

Renault experienced a difficult afternoon, with Nelson Piquet and Fernando Alonso finishing 12th and 14th respectively in the British Grand Prix, held at Silverstone.

The diamond team’s crew could not find the right rhythm during the Grand Prix and failed to highlight their strategy. A poor start and about fifteen laps stuck behind Heidfeld did not help the Spanish driver. For the first time this season, Piquet thus outpaced his teammate on a one-stop strategy, despite starting from 16th place.

Fernando Alonso – 14th:

« Our chances of scoring points vanished from the start. I lost two positions and got stuck behind Heidfeld, whose car was very heavy with fuel. That slowed me down. I had some nice battles after that, but I’m disappointed with the result. It’s clear that we need to improve in all areas by Nürburgring. »

Nelson Piquet – 12th:

« I think I ran a pretty solid race today. The result is disappointing, of course, but we must keep working. I hope the team will find new technical solutions for the next race. I know I can be competitive when the car is good. I still need to improve my performance level in qualifying. »

Flavio Briatore – General Director:

« Fernando [Alonso]’s start was not optimal and it put him in a difficult position, carrying this handicap throughout the race. Nelson [Piquet] was also slowed down by slower cars and couldn’t show his true pace. The team decided to switch him to a one-stop strategy, which gained him four places. However, we must improve our performance very quickly. »

Pat Symonds – Executive Director of Engineering:

Our performance today did not meet the expectations we had after qualifying. We leave Silverstone disappointed. Fernando’s bad start compromised his race because he lost so much time in the first stint that it was then impossible to get into the points. Nelson’s one-stop strategy worked well, but it is clear that we were not fast enough. We need to regroup and improve our performance before Germany.

Remi Taffin – Track Coordinator Renault F1 Team:

« Unfortunately, we were not fast enough today. After a start that was not optimal, we were slowed down from the beginning of the race, and that complicated things. From that moment on, regardless of the strategy chosen, we could no longer climb up the rankings. However, Fernando and Nelson did not underperform. They gave their maximum. We must now focus on the next stage, the Grand Prix of Germany. »

According to a press release from the Renault F1 Team