Hungarian GP: Renault race notes

In hot conditions under a strong summer sun, the Mild Seven Renault F1 Team obtained a disappointing eighth place finish in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Nevertheless, with the gap to the closest rivals in the Constructors' Championship remaining stable, the Team's fourth position has been reinforced with only four races remaining this season.

Jarno Trulli drove a solid race to finish eighth. On a two-stop strategy, he found himself squeezed out at the first corners, losing three places as a result. Afterwards, he lapped at the same pace as his direct competitors until experiencing understeer on his third set of tyres. Although the problem subsequently disappeared, it nevertheless cost him around two seconds a lap during his third stint.

Jenson Button made a successful start, and after a tough battle with his team-mate and Montoya, climbed to sixth place at the end of the first lap. However, the decision to start on used tyres meant he quickly began suffering from oversteer, and an error whilst fighting this problem saw him spin into retirement at turn 13 on lap 31.

Jarno Trulli, 8th position

"I made a bad start on the dirty side of the track and then was hit by several cars at the first corner, which cost me two places. The same thing happened at the second corner, and I lost another position. By then, I was following the other cars but of course it was impossible to overtake. The car balance was OK on the first two sets of tyres but during the third stint, I experienced a loss of grip at the front left which cost me a lot of time. Things improved by the end of the race, but I couldn't make up the time I had lost."

Jenson Button, retired

"I've had a tough weekend here. We made the decision to start on used tyres because we were worried about blistering in the hot conditions. The start was pretty good and I went round the outside at the first corner, which meant I had the inside line for the left-hander. I touched Montoya on the exit, but it didn't damage the car. Then I just started gradually losing grip, and I had a lot of oversteer. Just before my first pitstop, Davidson went off in front of me and after avoiding the incident, I put the right-rear wheel on the kerb as I was braking for the corner. It was simply my mistake."

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

"This is an extremely disappointing result from promising grid positions at a circuit where we should have performed better. Jenson made a good start and was running well before making a mistake which saw him spin. He was subsequently unable to restart. Jarno experienced a very traumatic first few corners through which it seemed that every bit of track he wanted was already occupied. This dropped him down the order, but he was able to maintain position until his final stint, where he encountered a lot of understeer and consequently lost competitiveness."

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

"From a technical point of view, we experienced no problems with the engine throughout the race, and had no nasty surprises. Even though this is undoubtedly positive, we must also note that the level of reliability was high throughout the field. Quite simply, we must recognise that we were beaten by cars that were much quicker than us today. We need to work hard before the next race in Belgium."

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