Renault making no excuses for missed win

World champion Fernando Alonso had led from pole position, with teammate Giancarlo Fisichella acting as a roadblock behind him, and looked to be steaming to his second successive Chinese victory until tyre problems on a drying track scuppered his chances after the first pitstop.

In a race full of incident, particularly in the later stages when teams wrestled with a tyre dilemma on a damp track, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher was more than 20 seconds behind Alonso before roaring back into contention and going on to win the race.

Symonds said Renault had no one but themselves to blame.

"We are making no excuses today," said Symonds. "This is a race we should have won, because the Renault and its Michelin tyres were dominant in all conditions. The fact we did not do so is intensely frustrating for the entire team.

"Fernando drove brilliantly from the start, and as we approached the first stop, told us on the radio that his front tyres were very badly worn.

"In consultation with Fernando and Michelin, we decided to change them - and leave the rears on. It soon became clear that the track was drying quickly, and that the decision had been the wrong one.

"As a result, we took the risk of stopping very early to switch Fernando to dry tyres - in the hope he would be able to gain time on the leaders.

"A delay in that pitstop cost us more time: we know that the nut fell out of the wheel gun, but not yet why. Afterwards, Fernando once again drove fantastically to close in on Michael, but we simply ran out of laps.

"The Michelin tyres were superior in the wet and the dry today, and it was easy to get the best out of the car in the changing conditions.

"We now go to the final races with renewed confidence. Today showed that the Renault is the fastest car out there. We fully intend to make use of it in the final two races of what is proving to be a thrilling title showdown."