At the conclusion of sixty-five action-packed laps at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, the ING Renault F1 Team’s dominant feelings were of frustration, alleviated only by the glimmer of hope offered by the improved performance of the R27 thanks to the team’s recent development programmes.
Both drivers were forced to drive seriously compromised races owing to fuel rig problems, which affected Heikki’s first and second stops and Giancarlo’s second stop as neither driver was delivered sufficient fuel to complete their planned stints. As a result, both drivers were forced to make one more pit-stop than planned in their race strategy, and this cost the team a double points-scoring finish. However, Heikki Kovalainen nevertheless salvaged a seventh-place finish, the best of his career so far, while Giancarlo Fisichella finished just outside the points in ninth position.
However, the basic performance of the R27 confirmed that the team has made a small step forward in competitiveness since the last race, and this promises well for the coming weeks as the team continues to work on its development programme, while pursuing an intensive phase of research and analysis to cure the problems that are currently masking the car’s true potential performance.
