Renault frustrated by low-key race

The team, which had been on the podium in the first two races, had to be content with a ninth-place finish by Vitaly Petrov, with team-mate Nick Heidfeld down in 12th.

Boullier conceded qualifying poorly, added to a strategy that did not work as expected, had made for a frustrating day for Renault.

He also said the team was expecting overtaking to be easier at the Shanghai circuit.

"Starting where we did, it was always going to be difficult to repeat the results we have had already this season," said Boullier. "In the end, it turned out to be quite a frustrating afternoon for us and we didn't really make the progress we expected in the race.

"Part of the reason was that overtaking was not as easy as we thought it would be, even with the DRS. Also, we need to review our strategy because it wasn't easy to make the calls today and it's clear you need to switch tyres at exactly the right moment.

"Still, it's good to pick up more points with Vitaly and we now have three weeks to regroup before Turkey to make sure we can be fighting closer to the front."