Zoom A surprising Japanese Grand Prix result

With the championship leaders and expected front runners tripping themselves up, Fernando Alonso drove a great race to win the Japanese Grand Prix, his second straight victory of the season. Alonso got the jump on Robert Kubica in the first round of stops and the BMW Sauber driver took the chequered flag five seconds behind Alonso and a second ahead of Kimi Raikkonen.

Q: Fernando, that was a great Grand Prix win, a fantastic start, lots of action in front of you at the first corner, let's talk about that, and then talk about that great race-defining second stint.
Fernando ALONSO: Yeah, the start was probably the most exciting part of the race, for sure. I saw the people in front of me going quite aggressively into turn one. I myself locked the front tyres and I went a little bit wide. But I think it surprised us in a way as with the cold temperatures most of us started with the prime tyres and then we locked the tyres and everybody went long, so I took the benefit of that and I put myself behind Robert and from that point the race was a little bit easier. Then in the second stint we managed to have some free air, no one in front of us, the car was very nice to drive again and I was pulling a nice gap and maybe part of the victory was in the second stint.

Q: You took on less fuel in the first stop, so perhaps that was influential in how the car handled?
FA: Yeah, obviously we were P2 when we stopped for the first time, so I asked the team if we can manage to exit the pits in front of Robert because I wanted some free air in the second stint, so they had to give me less fuel to do that but the problem is you need to open a gap in the second stint. Sometimes you can do it, sometimes you can’t but today the car was perfect and I was able to do it.

Q: I guess Robert got in front of you at the first corner when you locked up?
FA: Yeah, he went a little bit wide and then I saw the action in front me, everybody going straight, so I backed off a little bit and Robert overtook me. Then I was trying not to lose too much of a gap to Robert in the first stint and then control the race until the end as we did not know exactly how the soft tyres would perform in the last stint, so as many seconds as possible you need to be comfortable.

Q: Talk a little bit now about the feeling within the team and after the win in Singapore, Renault’s first back to back wins since 2006. How do you feel right now?