Zoom Piquet and Alonso both scored in France

Renault Technical Director left France disappointed that Fernando Alonso was unable to turn his qualifying pace into a podium position for the Renault team on home soil. On the upside, he was happy to see Nelson Piquet score his first Formula One points-paying finish and is relatively upbeat about the team's chances this coming weekend at Silverstone.

Bob, the team came away from France with its first double points finish of the season. Happy with the result?
"Although we’re obviously very pleased to see both cars finish the race in the points, I don’t think we can be totally satisfied with the result. I think Nelson got as much out of the race as he was ever likely to given his starting position, but it was obviously a great disappointment that Fernando was unable to bring home a potential podium finish, which is ultimately what we were aiming for."

Fernando’s qualifying form was again exceptional, but he struggled in the race. Is it fair to say that the team needs to work on improving its race pace?
"We were fairly confident that we could convert Fernando’s grid position into a podium finish, but he lost pace in the race, primarily in his first stint, and after that it was all over in terms of our hopes for a podium. We don’t fully understand yet why that was the case and so we are examining the data to try and get to the root cause of why he lost performance. So, yes, overall it is fair to say that we have seen more improvement in terms of our qualifying pace than we have seen in race conditions, and we need to address that. "

Nelson had a great weekend and scored his first points in Formula 1. How did you assess his performance?
"I think that Nelson did a very creditable job and he kept improving throughout the race weekend. In the practice sessions on Friday he was quite a way off Fernando, and yet by the end of the weekend he was right up there with him and ultimately brought home more points. So it was a really positive weekend for him, which is great for his self-confidence. Hopefully it will act as a launch pad for the second half of the year as we travel to some of the European tracks that he has raced on before. I think this is a real opportunity for him to show his true colours."

Looking ahead to the British Grand Prix, what can we expect from the R28?
"I think we’re pretty upbeat about Silverstone. It’s a medium / high down force track with some high-speed corners – a bit like Barcelona – and the R28 has generally gone well in this configuration. You need good change of direction; good traction; good high-speed performance and so I think it will suit the strengths of the car. And having tested at Silverstone last week we should be able to dial the car in quickly to the circuit and find a good set-up."