The Renault F1 Team took its second double podium finish in seven days during this afternoon’s Japanese Grand Prix, the last to be held at the magnificent Suzuka circuit in the immediate future.

In the space of that week, fortune’s wheel has turned full circle: Fernando Alonso’s victory today, and Giancarlo Fisichella’s strong drive to third place from sixth on the grid, put the Renault F1 Team back atop both world championships – Fernando Alonso now has a ten point lead in the drivers’ chase, while Renault leads Ferrari by nine points in the Constructors’ title.

As predicted, the world championship battle will go down to a thrilling deciding race in Brazil. In the intervening fortnight, the team will continue to work flat out to ensure it can race strongly and aggressively at Interlagos. As the past week has shown, Formula 1 always has the potential to surprise – and nobody can take anything for granted…

Fernando Alonso, WinnerThis win is a surprise for us all, a beautiful surprise. After qualifying, Ferrari seemed to be a long way in front, but as soon as we started racing today, I could feel that the car was well-balanced, and that we had the same speed as Ferrari. I took a risk to pass Jarno at the start, because it was the only chance, and then later in the stint I could see Ralf was having problems – and I got a run on him into turn 1. After the second stops, I still thought I could win, because the gap to Michael was only five seconds, so why not? Then I saw the smoke coming into turn 8, and I was watching the asphalt for oil. I thought it was a Spyker in front of me, and only when I went past did I realise it was Michael. After that, we turned the engine down, and just took things carefully to the finish. This win means a lot to the Renault team, and we have deserved it, and been waiting for it, ever since Hungary. The guys at the track, at the factories in Viry and Enstone, and at Michelin, have never given up all season. Now we feel confident for Brazil – but we are taking nothing for granted. The races are long, and you have to get everything right to make sure you finish in front. We have a good situation for the championship, but we will be racing the same way at Interlagos, to win.

Giancarlo Fisichella, 3rd positionThis was a great result for me, for Fernando and for the whole team. But psychologically, this has been a hard weekend for me. My best friend ever Tonino (Visciani) died last Thursday, and it hasn’t been easy for me. I just want to dedicate this podium to him, and to say ‘ciao’. In terms of the race, the car was not bad and we had a good strategy, because I was able to pass the Toyotas at the stops. The Michelin tyres worked perfectly as well, and we had the pace all the way through the race. Now, we need to go to Brazil and be aggressive. The team is determined to win the constructors’ championship, and I want to make sure I get third in the drivers’ championship. So we will be aggressive, be focused, and try to win.

2006 Japanese Grand Prix    Pos  No  Driver Team  Laps  Time/Retired Grid  Points 1  1  Fernando Alonso Renault  53  1:23:53.413 5  10 2  6  Felipe Massa Ferrari  53  +16.1 secs 1  8 3  2  Giancarlo Fisichella Renault  53  +23.9 secs 6  6 4  12  Jenson Button Honda  53  +34.1 secs 7  5 5  3  Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes  53  +43.5 secs 11  4 6  8  Jarno Trulli Toyota  53  +46.7 secs 4  3 7  7  Ralf Schumacher Toyota  53  +48.8 secs 3  2 8  16  Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW  53  +76.0 secs 9  1 9  17  Robert Kubica Sauber-BMW  53  +76.9 secs 12   10  10  Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth  52  +1 Lap 10   11  4  Pedro de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes  52  +1 Lap 13   12  11  Rubens Barrichello Honda  52  +1 Lap 8   13  15  Robert Doornbos RBR-Ferrari  52  +1 Lap 18   14  20  Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Cosworth  52  +1 Lap 15   15  22  Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda  52  +1 Lap 20   16  18  Tiago Monteiro MF1-Toyota  51  +2 Laps 21   17  23  Sakon Yamamoto Super Aguri-Honda  50  +3 Laps 22   18  21  Scott Speed STR-Cosworth  48  Power steering 19   Ret  9  Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth  39  Accident 14   Ret  5  Michael Schumacher Ferrari  36  +17 Laps 2   Ret  14  David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari  35  Gearbox 17   Ret  19  Christijan Albers MF1-Toyota  20  Mechanical 16   Fastest Lap: Fernando Alonso 1:32.676