Trulli: Lack of Grip Cost Me Podium

Jarno Trulli claimed he could have finished on the podium at today's Bahrain Grand Prix had his car not lost grip after his final pitstop.

"I'm very pleased with the result, but cannot help feeling it is slightly incomplete: we were capable of getting on to the podium this afternoon," Trulli said after finishing in fourth place for Renault.

"The car was perfect during the first three stints, and I was very quick, but after the final stop, it became harder to drive as I lost grip: it was quite a strange phenomenon.

"It is a shame that we didn't get a podium, but the overall situation after this race is fantastic: Renault is second in the Constructor's Championship, we have finished all three races with both cars and still come away thinking we could have done much better. I'm looking forward to getting to Imola."

Fernando Alonso, watched by his country's king Juan Carlos from a gathering of kings and princes, powered from 16th place to take sixth after an early incident which forced him to come into the pits to replace the damaged front wing of his Renault.

"I did the maximum possible today," said Alonso. "Quite honestly, I was very surprised by how some cars were being driven today: a Jaguar nearly put me in the wall at the start of the race, and then some other drivers were a little too difficult to overtake.

"Having said that, given the weekend I have had, three points is still a good score for the championship. The car balance was perfect all the way though. We have some performance evolutions coming at Imola, and I believe that with an even stronger package, and most importantly if we have some weekends without any problems, then we are capable of getting regular podium finishes."