2007 Monaco Grand Prix, Sunday - 27 MAY 2007
The ING Renault F1 Team scored its best result of the 2007
season so far with a fourth-place finish for Giancarlo Fisichella
in the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Italian started from the same position and produced a
mistake-free, competitive drive to finish twenty seconds ahead
of his closest rival. Running a two stop strategy, and using
hard tyres for the first stint before switching to the softer
compound, he was able to build a comfortable gap in the opening
stint, maintain it during the second, and then conserve the
car during the final laps.
His team-mate Heikki Kovalainen endured a more difficult
afternoon. Starting from 15th on the grid after having his
qualifying run spoiled on Saturday afternoon, the Finn ran
a one-stop strategy, using hard tyres followed by the soft.
He was held up by David Coulthard's Red Bull through the first
stint, and with overtaking almost impossible in Monaco, was
unable to pass. He jumped ahead of the Briton at his pit-stop,
but was subsequently left too far from other rivals to make
up further positions. The Finn was classified 13th overall.
Giancarlo Fisichella, 4th position
It was a very good result for me and the team, and encouraging
for the future. We should be proud of the job we did at the
circuit this weekend, and say thank you to all the people
in the factory whose hard work made it possible. The car had
more grip thanks to a new wing, and the consistency was much
better too. I was happy with the race I drove, pushing all
the way through the first two stints until we knew for sure
that my position was safe. It was good to finish ahead of
BMW for the first time, and now we have some more time to
push again at the factory, and make more progress. Canada
is another good circuit for me, so hopefully we can take another
step forward there.
Heikki Kovalainen, 13th position
I think this was a weekend to forget for me. It didn't start
well, qualifying was difficult, and I wasn't able to make
up any ground in the race. I got stuck behind Coulthard in
the first stint and although I got past him at the stops,
and pushed hard after that, it wasn't enough to catch the
cars in front. Then at the end, something happened with the
engine and I lost almost all the power and drive. It is all
the more frustrating because the car felt good through the
weekend, but at the critical points, it just didn't happen
for me. I suppose the race was really spoiled on Saturday
afternoon, but that's history now. It's time to look forward
to Canada, where I think we can be confident of a competitive
performance. It's another new track for me, and I am looking
forward to driving there.
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director
Giancarlo put in a fantastic performance all weekend, and
congratulations to him for his fourth place. From the team's
point of view, it is encouraging to have moved closer to the
front of the field, and back towards our normal level of performance.
Our step forward confirms that we are moving in the right
direction at the factory, and credit goes to all the people
who have worked night and day in the last few weeks. We know
that there is still a long way to go, and we will be aiming
to make steps forward with each race. I am confident that
we can continue to improve from here.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
Giancarlo drove a smooth and competitive race, and was untroubled
in achieving our best result so far this year. We called him
in early for his first stop to avoid traffic, but other than
that, planning his strategy was straightforward, and his race
turned out the same way. After Heikki's problem in qualifying,
it was natural for him to run a one-stop race and at a circuit
like Monaco, it was always going to be very difficult to improve
on his starting position. The strategy was slightly compromised
by an early first stop because of a left rear puncture, which
was caused by a brush with the wall. On top of that, his engine
lost a significant amount of power on the last lap, and we
need to investigate the cause of the problem. Overall, though,
it has been an encouraging weekend for us, and we will look
to confirm this improved performance at the next races.
|
