2007 Malaysian GP, Sunday
The ING Renault F1 Team produced a solid, improved performance
in this afternoon's Malaysian Grand Prix to take a double
points finish at the Sepang Circuit.
In sweltering conditions with track temperatures hitting
50°C, the two R27s started from the sixth row of the grid
– and then followed similar two-stop fuel strategies,
making late first stops to take full advantage of the free
fuel load afforded by their qualifying positions outside the
top ten.
Both drivers used the same tyre strategy, running the soft
tyre for the first two stints before fitting the hard compound
for the final, shorter part of the race. After 56 punishing
laps, Giancarlo Fisichella finished in sixth position (a gain
of six places) while Heikki Kovalainen took his first ever
Formula 1 point in only his second Grand Prix, with an eighth-place
finish.
While the overall level of performance remains well below
the team's expectations, this afternoon's performance represented
a step forward relative to Melbourne – and the team
will continue working hard on improvements in the coming weeks.
After two rounds of the championship, the team sits in fourth
position in the standings, with a total of 8 points.
Giancarlo Fisichella, 6th position
This was the maximum I could do today – and in our situation
at the moment, it feels like a podium finish. I am proud of
the race I drove today, and the pace was better than during
the rest of the weekend, and the car balance more stable and
consistent. The start was particularly good, I was able to
be aggressive in turns 1 and 2, and gain four places. The
team is realistic about the position we are in at the moment,
but they are working hard to understand why we are not on
the pace – and everybody is still really motivated to
improve the car and start moving forward.
Heikki Kovalainen, 8th position
This was my first F1 point, so it's a nice feeling after such
a tough race. I attacked every lap today, just pushing as
hard as possible to try and make up positions. The balance
was similar to qualifying, and a little unpredictable in the
high speed corners which meant I had some moments in turn
6, but that happens when you are on the limit. For me, the
race was a definite step forward compared to Melbourne, and
our competitiveness was better than we showed in qualifying.
I think we are moving in the right direction, and I know the
team will stay strong and keep their heads up, even though
we are not winning at the moment. Hopefully we can take another
step in Bahrain next weekend.
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director
This is our level at the moment – and we got everything
possible from the race this afternoon. I think our result
was the one we deserved, and there is no other answer for
us than to carry on working hard to climb back to the top.
Fisico was perfect today, with a strong, consistent race,
while Heikki got his first point, erased the memory of Melbourne
and did an encouraging performance for himself and the team.
We have achieved our maximum today, now we need to carry on
working to improve our potential for the next races.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
This was the best result we could achieve with the car we
have at the moment. Giancarlo drove a very impressive race,
moving up six positions, which included four places gained
with some incisive, aggressive driving at the start and in
the first corners. Heikki was very unfortunate to get boxed
in at the start, but after that he drove a good race, and
came home with a well-deserved first point in his F1 career.
It goes without saying that we cannot be satisfied with our
level of performance, but I believe we raced well with what
we had today.
|
