Fernando wins his second consecutive race, while Giancarlo retired early with an engine failure.
Fernando Alonso dominated yesterday afternoon’s Bahraini Grand Prix at the Sakhir circuit. At the wheel of his R25, the Spaniard scored the Mild Seven Renault F1 Team’s third victory of the season, and the third of his career, two weeks after winning in Malaysia. It was also an historic moment in Renault’s sporting history: this success marked the hundredth win for a Renault engine in Formula 1, the twentieth for a Renault chassis, and this win is the first time in history that a Renault chassis has won three consecutive races.
Fernando Alonso, Winner“The R25 was perfect today, and the team has been fantastic all weekend, with no mistakes. To score 26 points out of 30 possible is brilliant, but we need to stay cautious: we have only done three races out of nineteen in a very long season. However, I think that if we stay competitive like we are, and if we can avoid mechanical problems, then we will be hard to beat.”
Giancarlo Fisichella, retired, lap 3“It is normal that I feel extremely disappointed after retiring from a race where I could have scored a very strong result. The car felt great on the first lap, when I gained positions and felt like I could get even more. Then, the engine lost power and I was called into the pits to retire. I hope things will go better in Italy in three weeks.”
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director“This was a fantastic result for the whole team. Fernando dominated from start to finish: he had a nice fight with Michael, but after the Ferrari retired he just had to manage his tyres, his engine and the gap to Jarno. We are all disappointed for Giancarlo, but I know he will fight back strongly at the next race. Well done to everybody at Enstone and Viry; we are all proud to bring Renault their hundredth Formula One victory.”
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering“To see a driver control a race like Fernando did this afternoon is an impressive sight. His performance is even more remarkable when you consider he did not even use all the revs available on the engine in the opening laps. He seemed capable of increasing his pace when necessary, without putting undue stress on the car.
“We are sorry for Giancarlo, whose engine started to fail on lap two. We knew there was nothing we could do, but given the way in which the race unfolded, he could have scored a very strong result.
“We also need to thank Michelin: the tyres were really put to the test this weekend, with track temperatures over 50°C. Once again, the tyres were excellent in every area: they were quick over one lap, and consistent all the way through the race.”
1 Fernando Alonso Renault 57 1:29:18.5312 Jarno Trulli Toyota 57 +13.4 secs3 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 57 +32.0 secs4 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 57 +53.2 secs5 Pedro de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes 57 +64.9 secs6 Mark Webber Williams-BMW 57 +74.7 secs7 Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas 56 +1 Lap8 David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 56 +1 Lap9 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 56 +1 Lap10 Tiago Monteiro Jordan-Toyota 55 +2 LapRet Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-Petronas 54 Suspension12 Patrick Friesacher Minardi-Cosworth 54 +3 Lap13 Christijan Albers Minardi-Cosworth 53 +4 LapRet Jenson Button BAR-Honda 46 ClutchRet Takuma Sato BAR-Honda 27 BrakesRet Nick Heidfeld Williams-BMW 25 EngineRet Michael Schumacher Ferrari 12 HydraulicsRet Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 4 EngineRet Narain Karthikeyan Jordan-Toyota 2 ElectricalRet Christian Klien Red Bull Racing 0 Electrical
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