Flavio Briatore has insisted
Renault has much work to do if it is to gain ground on its competitors in the 2008
Formula 1 World Championship, after picking up just a solitary point in Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix – a race it won back-to-back in 2005 and 2006.
Indeed, but for
Felipe Massa's retirement the
Régie would have left Sepang with no points at all, after a poor start for
Fernando Alonso saw the Spaniard run wide at the first corner and find himself stuck behind the
Red Bull Racing machine of
David Coulthard in the early laps, whilst he would later come across the Scot's team-mate
Mark Webber in the race's closing stages.
The double world champion had been promoted to seventh on the grid following the five-place penalty handed out to the two
McLaren drivers, but he ultimately proved unable to capitalise on that. Rather embarrassingly for Renault – hustle as Alonso might – a defiantly gritty performance from Webber in one of the French manufacturer's two customer-engined cars kept the R28 at bay, limiting the team to a lone point at the chequered flag.
“I did the best I could today,” acknowledged the 26-year-old after the race, “but we were able to see that in normal race conditions we are a little far away in terms of performance. Our goal for the moment is to try and score points at each race and to work hard in the next tests so that we can perform better.”
Renault MD Briatore, whose team were once hailed as the kings of starting back in the days of launch control, lamented the outcome of the race.
“Unfortunately we did not make the most of the strong grid position with Fernando and this left us down the field, in spite of both Fernando and Nelson [Piquet] doing their best,” the Italian rued. “The only point we bring home is no consolation, and now we have to work hard to pinpoint our problems so that we can come back stronger in two weeks' time in Bahrain.”
