European GP: Renault race notes

Fernando Alonso, 4th

"A good race for me, and a strong result after a difficult weekend. I had a good fight with Jarno in the first few corners, which he eventually won coming out of Turn 4. I managed to get past him when he pitted before me, but I lost some performance during the last stint, even though we made small aerodynamic changes at both stops. I was under a lot of pressure during the last stint, first from Coulthard and then Michael, but I managed to keep my position. Ralf's win means I have lost my third position in the Championship, but I'm not too worried: we did a good job this weekend."

Jarno Trulli, retired

"Unfortunately, I think my car stopped with a fuel pressure problem. Until the retirement, I was having a good race: I managed to keep up with the leaders at the start, but then lost time behind Fernando during the second stint: I was a little bit quicker, but could not overtake. It looked like we were going to get two points finishes today, and it is therefore a shame to leave with just one."

Flavio Briatore, Managing Director, Mild Seven Renault F1 Team

"I am very happy with the result. I'm sorry for Jarno, who was very quick all weekend and did a fantastic job during the race. As for Fernando, he didn't crack under the pressure and scored some more valuable points."

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

"A very hard race for Fernando, who had to push all the way through to hold off the challenges of David and Michael. He withstood the pressure well, to give us a satisfying fourth place. Jarno provided an excellent performance all weekend, and was looking very comfortable in the race until what we believe was a fuel pressure problem stopped him out on the circuit. The cars performed well in race trim, and our tyres were well suited to this track."

Denis Chevrier, Engine Operations Manager, Mild Seven Renault F1 Team

"This was a race run under constant pressure. There were no surprises with the conditions, and we didn't suffer any problems on Fernando's car. There is still a question mark over Jarno's retirement, as the car stopped in a telemetry blind spot out on the circuit. However, we believe he suffered a fuel pressure problem. In summary, this was a good race where we showed ourselves to be, if not capable of beating the front runners, certainly in a good position to challenge them."