German GP: Renault race notes

After a long, difficult race, the Mild Seven Renault F1 Team collected eleven points from the German Grand Prix, reinforcing the team's World Championship position.

Jarno Trulli won his first podium for Renault, and only the second of his career, after starting from fourth position on the grid and taking good advantage of the first corner accident. Second at the start of the final stint, he suffered rear tyre problems which cost him two positions, but following Michael Schumacher's puncture he climbed back to the final step of the podium. Exhausted after this hard race, Jarno underwent precautionary medical checks.

Fernando Alonso, who finished fourth, ran in the wheeltracks of his team-mate for much of the race. A mistake at Turn 12 on lap 31 cost him two positions but, from eighth on the grid, fourth is a pleasing result.

Jarno Trulli, 3rd position:

"It is a wonderful feeling to score my first podium for Renault. I took advantage of the accident at the first corner and, during the first two stints, the car was very good: Montoya was faster than me, but I was controlling the people behind. However, fifteen laps from the end, I started suffering from blistering on the rear tyres. When the cars behind caught me, I lost two places, but Michael's problem was a stroke of luck which brought me a podium finish. We had a very good weekend, we were competitive right from the first session, and this is a good reward."

Fernando Alonso, 4th position:

"The result is OK, and it feels good to be scoring points again. We have been very competitive since Silverstone, and this is a good result for the team in terms of the championship. From my point of view, I pushed during the whole race: it was tough, and my mistake didn't help matters, but finishing fourth is not too bad after starting from eighth."

Flavio Briatore, Managing Director:

"This is good for the whole team, and particularly for Jarno, his engineers and his mechanics, who have scored their first podium for Renault. It was a hard race, especially in these hot conditions, but we chose the right strategy. We will continue working throughout the next three weeks in order to stay competitive in Budapest."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering:

"We always knew this would be a difficult race, because of the very high temperatures which have a detrimental effect both on the tyres and the engines. The high quality of both of these enabled a double points finish for the first time since Monaco, and our fourth podium of the season. The team and its partners worked well to earn this result in the face of adverse conditions."

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