Austrian GP: Renault race notes

Jarno Trulli finished the Austrian Grand Prix in eighth place but Fernando Alonso retired with an engine failure.

Jarno Trulli:

"A tough race, definitely. I made a mistake when I slid in the light rain, losing control on the first corner which cost me quite a few positions. Then I was stuck in traffic. The drivers ahead of me were slower and the team decided to change strategy. Thanks to that, I was able to climb up again but somehow the car wasn't quite right after my first pit stop and I just couldn't improve as I wanted. Eight place and one point is not too bad but I had expected much better from this race."

Fernando Alonso:

"I started the race from the pit with the T-car and I made good progress throughout the race. The one-stop strategy was right and I was in eigth position when I was forced to retire because of an engine problem. It's the first time I haven't finished a race this season -- and hopefully the last! However, today we have proved to be competitive on this circuit which is not the best for us, so I am very optimistic for all the races to come."

Flavio Briatore, Managing Director:

"A weekend that was marked by a series of problems and that ended in a very disappointing way for us. The only consolation is the one point we scored which makes us keep third position (equal with Williams) in the Championship. Now we have to focus our efforts and make sure that this doesn't happen again."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering:

"A very difficult race from the beginning with Fernando starting the race from the pit lane, due to a last minute engine failure. However he improved his position dramatically throughout the race when another engine failure put an end to his fight for fifth place. Jarno's race was compromised when on lap 15 he had a spin which dropped him back. Soon after he came in for his first pit stop and afterwards he appeared to struggle. Now we have to examine what happened and why we were not more competitive."

Denis Chevrier, Engine Operations Manager:

"For the first time this season, we have experienced an engine failure during the race, costing us a potential fifth place for Fernando. Unfortunately Jarno could not optimise on his good starting position on the grid and lost two places, bringing however home one point. Overall a disappointing first race for our new spec engine reliability but from a performance point of view, it's quite encouraging."

Jarno Trulli: 8th
Chassis: R23-03
best time: 1:10.358

Fernando Alonso
Chassis: R23-01
DNF: 44 laps

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