Canada Sunday quotes: Renault

"Kimi put a lot of pressure on me in the opening stint, some laps I was faster, some laps he was, and he nearly got past me when I ran wide in turn 10. Then after the first stop, the team told me that he was going longer than me on the middle stint, so I really had to push to open up a gap.

"I had three or four scares because I was pushing to the limit but in the end, I came out with quite a good lead after the second stop and it would have been quite comfortable. Then the Safety Car closed everything up, but I had some cars between me and Kimi, which made it quite easy to control the final laps.

"These last races haven't been easy for us, but we are developing the car and the results keep on coming. We had a new package for Canada that worked really well, and we have more coming. That is the best defence we can do, to keep attacking and winning races."

Giancarlo Fisichella - 4th: "It was a difficult afternoon, a tough race for all of the drivers. I jumped the start and even though I tried to slow down and Kimi got past me, I had to do a drive-through penalty. That was really when I lost the chance of a podium finish.

"After that, I pushed to the maximum in the opening stint and the second one too, but the circuit was destroyed in turn 10, and there was a lot of traffic, so it was easy to make mistakes out there. Even so, I finished ahead of Massa and helped us score more points than Ferrari, so it is good for the championship. Now, we need to do even better in Indy."

Flavio Briatore, Managing Director: "This was another good race for the team, but not an easy one. The team managed it well and Fernando did too. It is always a hard race here with the brakes and tyres, so I am really pleased for Fernando to take his first win at this circuit.

"Giancarlo made a mistake at the start, and one mistake is enough to make it a very difficult afternoon when the competition is so close. Even so, he got the car home in the points and beat Massa. The important thing today was out-scoring Ferrari, and we can go to Indy feeling very confident. Everybody really wants to put on a good show there and repair the damage from last year."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: "What a tough race that was! It was certainly the hardest of the year for the first two stints, and a lot of things could have happened this afternoon. Fernando was under severe pressure from Kimi until the second stops, when McLaren seemed to bring him in a little early.

That actually made our life quite a lot easier, and we then controlled the race to the finish. Giancarlo's race was compromised by his jump start. He was in a recovery situation from then on, and made the most of it to finish fourth. Conditions were very tricky this afternoon, but we should also thank Michelin for providing a fantastic tyre.

"Temperatures hit 48°C and the strategy called for long stints. In spite of this, they showed excellent consistency to go with the stunning one-lap performance from yesterday. It was appropriate that, for their hundredth F1 victory, they should once again provide us with a perfect tyre."