Double disappointment for Renault.

The Spanish Grand Prix proved to be a disappointing one for the Mild Seven Renault F1 team, especially after the promise it showed in qualifying.

Both the team's drivers retired at the end of an eventful race following a loss of performance cauised by different things.

Jenson Button experienced a hydraulic problem, while Jarno Trulli lost speed because of difficulties with the engine.

Button had been running as high as third at one stage, and looked a good bet for a maiden podium until his problem intervened. With his car slowing, the Briton was largely powerless to prevent, first, Nick Heidfeld, then both Felipe Massa and Heinz-Harald Frentzen from pushing him out of the top six. A late retirement prevented Button from taking the flag at all.

"I'm big time disappointed," he sighed, "The car wasn't fantastic at the beginning of the race, with high-speed understeer and oversteer in the slower corners. We didn't manage to adjust the car to correct it during the pit-stops, and then I had the hydraulic problem. The steering got very heavy and it was as if somebody had switched the electric off towards the end!"

Before the first round of pit-stops, however, Button had another incident to contend with, as Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren shed its rear wing directly in front of the Renault driver.

"I didn't see anything happen," the Briton admitted, "I was too busy trying to avoid the wing on the track!"

Trulli was given the go-ahead to pass his ailing team-mate midway through the race, primarily to give to chase to David Coulthard in the second McLaren. Despite being let through by Button, it quickly became clear that the Italian could not live with his Scottish rival, as his engine problems got worse. Like Button, Trulli also failed to take the chequered flag, pulling into the pits two laps before the end.

"Overall, I had a good race - the car was working well, and I was pleased with our pace," he reported, "The problem was there

from the beginning, but I could handle it until mid-race. After that, it got worse and worse until there was nothing I could do. It's a shame, but things look promising even so."

"This was a bad day for the team," said managing director Flavio Briatore, "Although we were competitive at the start of the race, the problems show that we are still not quite ready. We now need to work harder to correct them."