German GP, Sunday,
The Renault F1 Team endured its most difficult race weekend
of the season at today's German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.
The race was run in sweltering conditions, with track temperatures
peaking at over 50°C – a factor the team had hoped
would work in its favour compared to the cooler temperatures
encountered in qualifying. However, this did not prove to
be the case and both Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella
experienced severe rear tyre blistering at different points
in the race, during the first stint for Alonso and the second
for Fisichella. In both cases, these problems were encountered
at important strategic moments of the race and cost the drivers
improved finishing positions.
In spite of the challenges encountered in Germany, the Renault
F1 Team maintains its leadership of both championships at
the two-thirds stage of the 2006 season. Fernando has scored
100 points and leads Michael Schumacher by 11 points, while
team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella is now fourth in the championship
on 49 points. In the constructors' battle, the Renault F1
Team has scored 149 points and leads rivals Ferrari by 10
points.
Fernando Alonso, 5th position
We were not competitive this weekend, but I did the maximum
I could and so did the team. I think that without the blistering
we experienced, the podium was a possibility for me today
– even from seventh position. I got a good start and
passed both Hondas, but the tyres then blistered in the opening
stint and I lost too much time to be able to fight for third
place. Things were much better in the second and third parts
of the race, and I was still pushing hard in the final laps
when I went off because there was a chance of catching Button.
When you look at the level of performance over the weekend,
and consider the blistering, then the result is not too bad.
But we did not have enough to fight Ferrari here, and that
was the problem for us. Now, we need to think positive and
look to Hungary. The tyres we use there are totally different
to what you need for Hockenheim, and I have confidence in
Michelin to give us the right products. We need to improve
our performance for next week, and fight back strongly.
Giancarlo Fisichella, 6th position
Both of the Renaults had the same problem today with tyre
blistering, and for me it came in the second stint. After
just a few laps, the car had become nearly undriveable. We
need to investigate everything to find out why, but we also
saw some other Michelin cars that were quicker than us today,
and we were missing something in terms of performance all
the way through the weekend. On the positive side, we stayed
reliable, got both cars to the finish and managed to score
points on a very tough weekend for us. Now we need to look
ahead to Budapest. Everything starts again for us on Friday,
and we will be going there hoping to fight for the podium.
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director
The important thing after a difficult weekend like this one
is to stay calm: we are still leading both championships but
we are in a tough fight, as we expected at the start of the
season. This was a difficult weekend for the whole team from
beginning to end, and Fernando and Giancarlo did a great job
to bring the cars home in the points. Now, we need to regroup
at Enstone and Viry, analyse with Michelin what happened this
weekend, and push hard to get back on top in Budapest.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
It goes without saying that this was an extremely difficult
race for us. We have not had the pace we would have wanted
all weekend, and the tyre management in the race was even
more difficult than anticipated with both drivers experiencing
severe blistering at different points. With the next race
only one week away, we need to use the coming days to make
careful analysis of what has happened this weekend, and do
everything in our power to rectify the situation for Hungary.
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