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The ING Renault F1 Team made the most of an eventful Turkish Grand Prix
as Fernando Alonso brought his R28 home in a well-earned 6th place,
while teammate Nelson Piquet ended the afternoon in 15th.
A mixed qualifying session yesterday saw Fernando and Nelson start the
race from 7th and 17th places respectively, with the team targeting a
points finish in the race. An eventful opening lap saw both Renault
drivers in the thick of the action with Fernando making up two
positions, while Nelson was forced to take avoiding action in the first
corner melee, dropping to the back of the field.
As the race
developed Fernando ran competitively in the top six for the whole
afternoon to secure the team three valuable points. Nelson faced an
uphill battle to recover from the back of the pack, but raced hard to
finish in 15th place.
Having confirmed the progress made in
recent weeks, the team will look to carry its good form into the Monaco
Grand Prix in two weeks time.
Fernando Alonso, P6
“We were on the pace this weekend and scored some valuable points
today, which confirms the progress we have made recently and is thanks
to the hard work of everyone in the team. I made a good start, which
was essential for a strong race and after that everything went
smoothly. We had a good strategy, the car was well balanced and there
were no problems with the tyres, so I am happy. Now we must continue
working hard to catch up with the leading teams, but we are in good
shape.”
Nelson Piquet, P15
“I am satisfied with my performance today. My race started badly as I
had to avoid the accident at the start which held me up. After that we
just stuck to our strategy and tried to make up ground. The most
important thing is that I finished the race and I have gained some more
experience. I would have liked to finish further up, but I think that
my weekend was determined during the qualifying session yesterday. I
will make the most of what I have learned this weekend and put it to
use at the next Grand Prix in Monaco, which will be an exciting race.”
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director
“It’s nice to see some encouraging signs of improvement. Fernando made
a fantastic start and had a great race to get us some important points.
It was difficult for Nelson starting from so far back, but he managed
to drive a consistent race and kept pace with the midfield pack. We are
confident that we are starting a new phase which will see us get closer
and closer to the top three teams.”
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
“I think we made the most of our chances today.
Fernando’s race was essentially with Webber, but it was gratifying to
see that we were closer to the BMWs once again, although there is still
a gap that we need to close. Nelson’s race was always going to be
difficult and there was little we could do for him strategically, but
it was a spirited drive, especially his defence against Heikki.”
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