Austrian GP: Renault race notes

The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team had a frustrating end to a difficult weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix. Starting from far back on the grid, the team's cars performed more competitively in race trim than during the rest of the weekend. While Jarno Trulli retired on lap 45 following a drop in fuel pressure, Jenson Button finished seventh, just outside the points.

Jarno Trulli, retired, lap 45

"Following a good start, I was lucky to avoid a number of incidents at the first two corners. After that, I was running well just behind McNish. Our strategy meant I gained a number of places when I stopped, and everything was going well after that. I was fighting with Fisichella and Coulthard - I'd even say I was a little bit quicker. Then I simply lost fuel pressure and had to retire."

Jenson Button, 7th place

"Once again, it's a disappointing end to the race. The car felt good all day, even though we were losing some time out of turn two. Towards the end, I was as close as I could get to Coulthard - there really wasn't anything else I could do."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering, Mild Seven Renault F1 Team

"A disappointing end to a hard weekend for the team. Although our performance in the race saw us running much closer to our competitors, we were unable to achieve a points finish. It's frustrating but there was nothing we could have done, neither in terms of strategy nor car set-up."

Denis Chevrier, Head of Race Engineering (Engine), Mild Seven Renault F1 Team

"We competed at a level much closer to our usual rivals today, which further underlines our disappointing performance during qualifying. Even so, only one of our drivers reached the finish following Jarno's retirement. Taking into account the analyses that still need to be conducted, we have identified a loss of fuel pressure, but it is still too early to know the real cause of the problem."

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