In taking the chequered flag a strong fourth in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps at the weekend,
Fernando Alonso claims
Renault has proved itself capable of being
Formula 1's third force ahead of BMW-Sauber – as the
Régie gained important ground on
Toyota in the constructors' championship battle.
After qualifying sixth, the former double world champion ran in a competitive fourth place from the off, at times showing himself to be the quickest man on the circuit despite the engine in the back of his R28 proving to be a little breathless in comparison to those of
Ferrari and Mercedes along Spa's long straights.
Like eventual podium finisher
Nick Heidfeld, Alonso then took the gamble of pitting two laps from home to bolt on wet weather tyres as the conditions worsened. It was a risk that would pay off, as having dropped back down to eighth position, he stormed back through the order again and even grabbed two places exiting the Bus-Stop chicane for the final time to cross the finish line fourth, a scant tenth of a second ahead of
Scuderia Toro Rosso's
Sebastian Vettel.
“We finished fourth after a difficult race with plenty of incidents,” the 27-year-old affirmed afterwards. “It's a good result for the team, especially for our position in the championship because our objective was to score some important points. We missed out on a podium, but we have shown that we can be the third-strongest team in the championship.”
Rookie Renault team-mate
Nelsinho Piquet was rather less fortunate. After being the only man to take the start on intermediate rubber, the Brazilian initially leapt up to seventh spot, but as the track surface dried out so he dropped back, and he would become the race's first retiree when he spun into the barriers shortly after changing over to slick tyres on lap 14.
“The plan was to run a one-stop strategy,” the 23-year-old explained, “so my car was heavy on fuel. I made a good start and gained five places, which was encouraging, but there were still some damp patches on the circuit and I made a mistake.
