Q & A with Fernando Alonso

Q. Fernando, how was your race?

FA: Pretty much what I expected to be honest. We knew that McLaren would be quick, because we saw that in practice. That meant we changed our strategy for the weekend a bit. I was running quite early in qualifying, so we needed to overcome that - and we decided to use quite a light fuel load. That put us in a good position on the grid, and to stay in touch with the McLarens through the first stint.

Q. What happened next?

FA: Nothing unusual. After the pit-stops, Kimi was still ahead and we knew we wouldn't be able to catch him in a normal race. Montoya was ahead as well, and just as fast. So we did not take too many risks, and I tried to just do a constant race. I tried not to lose concentration and to stay consistent.

Q. Then you seized the opportunity when Montoya had some problems...

FA: Exactly. Two laps from the end, I saw yellow flags and a McLaren and Jordan off the track. I understood what had happened, but Montoya got back on track in front of me and it would have been hard for me to overtake if his car had not caught him out a bit later on. That was a nice surprise.

Q. What are your conclusions from the weekend?

FA: I think we can be pleased with the job we did. This was a good weekend for Renault. I only lost two points to Kimi, which is positive. People will say I was lucky, and it's partly true, but you need to seize your opportunities. But our competitors were very quick. In the constructors' title, McLaren are getting closer and it will be a tight battle until the end of the year. We can't let up the pressure and in that perspective, Fisico's fourth place today was really useful.