Belgian GP: Renault race notes

Jarno ninth and retirement for Fernando in an extremely disappointing result for the team in Belgium.

The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team returns home empty handed from the Belgian Grand Prix, after Jarno Trulli finished the race in ninth place while Fernando Alonso retired on lap 12. After both cars led one-two at the end of the first lap, the result is a bitter disappointment, as Fernando Alonso was pulling away in the lead when he spun off with oil on his rear tyres. However, in the bigger picture, fortune smiled on the team, as it maintained its eight point lead in the constructors' championship over nearest rivals BAR.

Jarno Trulli started immaculately from pole position and led the first stint of the race before pitting on lap 10. However, from this point onwards he struggled with the handling of the car, particularly at the rear, and was unable to match his previous pace. His afternoon included a collision with Montoya at the Bus Stop Chicane but in spite of numerous retirements, he was unable to reach a points-scoring position at the end of the race.

For Fernando Alonso, though, the afternoon is one of what might have been. He had just taken the lead from team-mate Jarno Trulli and was pulling away in the lead when he spun on the entry to Les Combes on lap 12. Although he restarted, he spun again at turn 8 (Rivage), and into retirement. The reason for the problem was an engine oil leak onto the rear tyres, although at this stage, the team does not know the origin of the problem.

Jarno Trulli:

"I don't know what happened today. Things seemed quite good in the first stint, but then after my first stop, the car became undriveable. I lost grip at the rear, and had no confidence through the high-speed corners, which penalises you all the way round the circuit here at Spa. I am very upset with this performance, but right now, I just want to understand what happened."

Fernando Alonso:

"To retire from the lead of a race is never good, and especially at this stage of the season. We looked competitive compared to Raikkonen and the other cars, and I was just beginning to run at my full pace when the car spun round on the entry to turn 5. I got going again, but then it happened again into turn 8, and when I got out, I could see the left rear was covered in oil. I'm just disappointed, because it was a good chance for a strong result today."

Flavio Briatore, Managing Director:

"This result is a major disappointment for the team. We had a great chance to score points today and strengthen our position in the championship, even after Fernando had retired, but instead we came away empty-handed. Fernando suffered from a reliability problem, and we need to resolve this before the final four races of the season. As for Jarno's loss in performance, we are at a loss to explain what happened. It is only a small consolation that BAR failed to score points today either."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering:

"After an extremely promising day yesterday, this is a very disappointing result. Fernando spun off with what appeared to be an oil leak on the rear tyres. Jarno struggled with the balance of his car throughout the race, and we need to check our data in order to try and find out why."

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