16/05/2010
NEWS STORY
Robert Kubica: Finishing third in Monaco is a super result for us after an excellent weekend. Nobody was expecting us to finish on the podium here, but we were up at the front all weekend and the whole team really deserves this result. It's also a great performance by Renault engines to fill the top three steps of the podium. At the start of the race I lost a place to Sebastian, but I knew it was always going to be difficult starting from the dirty side of the track. Normally I would have defended the position, but Mark got quite a slow pull-away from the line and I thought I might have a chance to overtake him. Unfortunately I got some wheelspin and it was too late to close the door to Sebastian, and I also had to defend from Felipe. In the race we had excellent pace and I think I was a bit quicker than Sebastian on the prime tyres, especially after the restarts, which shows the progress we continue to make as a team and is very encouraging for the next few races.
Vitaly Petrov: It's a bit disappointing not to make the finish of the race but I felt something wrong at the rear so the team decided to stop me with a few laps to go. Unfortunately my race was also affected by a puncture, which cost me a lot of time and put me a lap down. The start of the race was not too bad and I made up a few positions, but we didn't make up as many positions during the pit stops as we hoping to and we need to understand why this was the case. Still, I completed most of the race and this is more good experience for me. Hopefully I can come back to Monaco next year and score some points.
Eric Boullier, Team Principal: To get a podium here in Monaco is a great result for Robert and the team. Starting on the front row we certainly had high expectations and we are all very happy with this third place. Robert drove a fantastic race and the performance of the car was very strong, which allowed us to keep the pressure on Red Bull and stay ahead of the other teams. I'd like to say a big well done to the whole team who can be very proud of their hard work recently, which has contributed to this result. And of course, it's great to see three Renault engines on the podium. As for Vitaly, his race was made difficult after his accident in qualifying yesterday, but things became even tougher when he got a puncture, which ended his hopes of points. Looking ahead to Turkey, we will keep pushing hard with our development, which is really starting to pay off. The car has shown its' strengths on slow, bumpy tracks and we need to work hard to be as quick on the upcoming circuits. Overall I'm very happy with how things are progressing.
Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: Although it's great to finish on the podium, there is a little bit of frustration that we lost a place to Vettel at the start because the car was very quick today. Certainly on the prime tyres I think we were as quick as him but, as we all know, it's almost impossible to overtake at Monaco and we had to settle for third place. Vitaly's race was spoiled by a right rear puncture, which meant he had to drive almost three quarters of a lap on three wheels and that made it very difficult for him to recover. Looking ahead to Turkey, we've got some more aerodynamic updates coming and hopefully we can build on the momentum of today's result.
Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations: We have finished on the podium in Monaco, which is a great result after the hard work by the team and drivers this weekend. Unfortunately, Robert lost a place at the start and despite his best efforts we remained in this position until the finish. Vitaly did his best, but he was the victim of a puncture and then had to retire with a technical problem near the end of the race. I also want to say big congratulations to Renault engines for their 1-2-3 today. On the engine side there were no concerns with our V8s, one of which completed its' second race and the other its' third.