Canadian GP: Renault race notes

A frustrating day for the Renault F1 Team at the Canada Grand Prix.

After a fantastic start and a solid lead of the race, Giancarlo Fisichella, followed by Fernando Alonso both had to retire. Giancarlo suffered a hydraulics problem after his first pit-stop and his race finished on lap 36.

Fernando damaged his suspension hitting the wall on turn 4 and had to retire on lap 39. For the first time this season, the Renault F1 Team didn't score any points. This said, the team still leads the constructors' championship with 76 points. Fernando also leads the drivers' championship with 59 points

Fernando Alonso:

"Not a good day for me. When the light went off, the electronic system of the car had a problem and I lost a bit of time. Then, during my pit-stop, the fuel rig also had a problem. In the end, I went too wide, I touched the wall and damaged the car. This is a very disappointing result, because the week-end had been almost perfect until then."

Giancarlo Fisichella:

"I am obviously very disappointed. I had a fantastic start, then I pushed reasonably hard in order to save my brakes and my tyres. When I pitted, we put a lot of fuel on board as this was the best strategy for us. Unfortunately, a few laps later, the gearbox started not working properly."

"It was a hydraulic failure and the only thing I could do was to go back to the pits to retire. This is particularly frustrating because I feel I could have won today. Moreover, I'll be among the first drivers to take the track in qualifying at Indianapolis, and it will be tough"

Flavio Briatore, Managing Director:

"This was a negative week-end for us but we have to consider that so far, we've had a strong season. In this sport, you can't expect a great result at every race. The team did a great job all week-end and today both cars were extremely competitive. We have to keep this in mind and be confident that we will be back on top next week-end at Indy."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering:

"Giancarlo retired with a hydraulic problem and Fernando had his suspension damaged after he hit the wall at the exit of turn 4. The car has been very competitive all week-end which makes it even more frustrating to lose this opportunity here in Canada. We bounced back after Monaco and we'll bounce back after this one as well!"

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