Alonso reviews Silverstone

Renault's Fernando Alonso goes back over a disappointing weekend in Silverstone, when circumstances hampered his quest for points.

"Silverstone was a disappointing weekend. We found that the car was actually quicker than we had expected, but personally I suffered some problems that meant I could never really show it. After an engine change on Saturday I was forced to start from sixteenth, and then during the race, I got struck behind slower cars in every stint: first Heidfeld, then Webber, then Da Matta."

Fernando Alonso.

Photo by LAT Photographic.

"It meant I could never run at my true pace, and not really make the most of the car. So we missed out on scoring a few points, and that is frustrating. But the main thing for all of us was that Jarno was OK following his accident."

"We came to Silverstone knowing that it would be tough here, because we had not been so quick in the test session back in June. But when we actually started running properly, on Saturday morning, things looked quite good. The car was quick, and the balance good -- I found a set-up I was happy with and we looked fairly competitive."

"Then, coming back to the pits after my final run in the fourth practice session, I saw smoke and switched off the engine immediately. It emerged that I had suffered a terminal engine failure -- our first of the season -- and that it would cost me ten positions."

"So, I started the race from 16th and made up positions in the opening laps, but we had decided to go for three stops so I could be aggressive, and it put us out of synch with a lot of the slower cars. I made the first stop earlier than planned to try and get ahead of Gen?, which I managed, but I then got stuck behind Heidfeld and Webber -- they both held me up, but the difference in speed where it mattered, down the straights, wasn't enough for me to get past them."

"So we stopped early again, and I got into some clean air -- briefly... But then the Toyota of Da Matta was in the way, and once again I couldn't run at my true pace. It was frustrating, because on the few laps I got on my own, I was quick and the car balance was very good."

"In the end, I think that we possibly missed an opportunity to score points -- not many, but they are all important at the end of the season. When Jarno crashed, I still had a stop to make and we had a very short time to react -- just two corners, between Turn 14 and the pit-lane entry. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to, so I had to complete another entire lap."

"That may have been the difference between tenth and eighth, I don't know, but it was frustrating to finish so close behind cars that were slower than me. I am not happy to be tenth, of course not, but sometimes the circumstances fall like this. We just need to come back stronger, and start scoring points again, beginning with the next race."

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