Formula One news

Renault encouraged by Alonso's fourth

It was a mixed afternoon for the Renault team as Fernando Alonso finished the Belgian Grand Prix in a solid fourth place, while teammate Nelson Piquet retired in the early stages.

"We finished fourth after a difficult race with plenty of incidents," said Alonso. "It's a good result for the team, especially for our position in the championship because our objective was to score some important points. We missed out on a podium today, but we have shown that we can be the third strongest team in the championship."

Nelson Piquet commented, "The plan was to run a one-stop strategy today and so my car was heavy on fuel. I made a good start and gained five places, which was encouraging, but there were still some damp patches on the circuit and I made a mistake. It's a shame because I'm sure we could have done something today. I want to remain positive and I'm now looking forward to Monza, where we tested last week. I hope we can have a strong race there."

Engineering director Pat Symonds added, "Once again, unpredictability produced a superb race. It's pleasing for us that the car was very quick in the dry conditions and that we achieved a good finishing position through fantastic driving from Fernando and good team work from everyone. Our target is fourth position in the championship and today was a good step towards that."

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