Renault F1 takes 1-2 in round 2 and rockets to championship favoritism

Even more encouraging for Renault was the form of their other driver Giancarlo Fisichella , who bounced back in style from a disappointing retirement in the Bahraini Grand Prix seven days ago, controlling the Malaysian Grand Prix from start to finish.

Renault F1’s charismatic Managing Director Flavio Briatore was overjoyed at the team result: “This was a fantastic performance from the whole Renault team. Every single member of our team put in an exceptional performance today. Fisico and Fernando were fantastic. Giancarlo controlled the race, and Fernando amazed us at the start. The car was so heavy, that to do what he did into turn 1 was something special. I think this performance shows that we interpreted the rules for 2006, with the new V8 engines, in the right way. We have a great group of people, and everybody is pushing in the same direction. I am very happy for the whole Renault Group today, and they should be proud to have an incredible team like this one.”

Director of Engineering Pat Symonds was equally effusive about the results and the prospects for defending the title: “We had a fantastic amount of success last season, but the one-two finish eluded us throughout 2005. It is the ultimate team prize, and we are delighted to have achieved it today. What a fantastic result this was for Giancarlo. We saw yesterday that he has real strength of character, as he bounced back from a disappointing weekend in Bahrain, and this just reinforces that. It was a controlling and compelling performance. It is important not to forget Fernando, who was disadvantaged in qualifying by a team problem. He fought through the field to make the most of his race, as he always does. This is a team result, and belongs to every single person at Enstone and Viry.”

Just a week ago, Fisichella looked anything but a winner with some demonstrative displays of frustration. Like we said, a week is a long time in Motorsport.

“It was a perfect race for me”, said the Spaniard, “but it was very tough physically and mentally. It was really, really hot out there and I began to feel it from mid-race onwards. I knew it would be hard but there was no choice but to push all the way to the end. So I did. I didn’t want to lose concentration in the last laps, and everything went well, the car and engine were perfect too. I am really so happy for this win. And I am especially pleased because I am dedicating the win to a friend who died last week, Pietro. To have my race engineer Alan Permane on the podium alongside me was special too. Thank you to the whole team, this is a brilliant result.”

Alonso just keeps on motoring, recognising that although he wasn’t far from a win, he was closer than any of those who had scored points in the last Grand Prix, and hence had stolen a significant lead at an early stage of the season.

“From my point of view, I think things could have been different without the problems in qualifying, but today was about making everything we could from P7 on the grid, and I think we did that. I got a great start, and managed to brake late into turn 1 to get the Williams round the outside. I knew Webber was lighter than me, and would have let him go if he had tried to pass, but we had the speed in spite of the heavy fuel load. After that, it was just a question of pushing and letting the strategy work itself out. I have a special feeling for this circuit, it is a fantastic track, and it has always been good to me. I am very pleased to have 18 points out of a possible 20 after only two races, and we are really looking forward to Melbourne.”

For Ferrari, their newest driver showed he had the right stuff, with Philipe Massa starting on the back of the grid and driving past his more celebrated teammate , seven times champion Michael Schumacher to claim fifth. Schumacher was sixth in the end and remains within striking distance if he gets his mojo working.

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