Renault Endure Disappointing Race

The Renault team endured a disappointing Austrian Grand Prix and left the A1-Ring circuit with only one point to show for after their worst performance of the season so far.

Italian Jarno Trulli salvaged the only point for the French squad after finishing in eighth position. Trulli, however, could have finished higher had he not made a mistake when he slid in the light rain, losing control on the first corner.

"A tough race, definitely," said Trulli. "The drivers ahead of me were slower and the team decided to change strategy. Thanks to that, I was able to climb up again but somehow the car wasn't quite right after my first pit stop and I just couldn't improve as I wanted.

"Eighth place and one point is not too bad but I had expected much better from this race."

Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who decided to start from the pitlane after he had finished in 19th position in yesterday's qualifying, suffered an engine failure and retired for the first time this season when he looked set to score points again.

"It's the first time I haven't finished a race this season, and hopefully the last," said Alonso. "However, today we have proved to be competitive on this circuit which is not the best for us, so I am very optimistic for all the races to come."