Second place 'fantastic result' for Renault, says Kubica
Kubica leapfrogged Felipe Massa's Ferrari in the pits to grab second place
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By Matt Hallam. |  |
Sunday, 28, Mar 2010 01:25
By Adam Leveridge.
Robert Kubica said his second place finish in Sunday's Australian grand prix was a "fantastic result" for the Renault formula one team.
Kubica joined the Anglo-French outfit over the winter after spending three seasons with the BMW Sauber team, with whom he clinched his first F1 victory and was even in a position to challenge for the title in 2008.
After a year of controversy and dismal results, Kubica put Renault back on the map in Australia, with a determined drive to second place, behind Jenson Button in the McLaren.
"Second place today is a fantastic result for the team after all the hard work we have done over the winter," said Kubica.
"It was a difficult race to call in terms of strategy and I pitted to change my intermediates for slicks as soon as we saw Button's pace.
"I managed to jump Massa in the pits and I came out ahead of Button, but it was my first lap on slicks so I could not hold him off.
"I thought I would pit again later in the race, but the team said we didn't need to if I could look after the tyres until the end of the race.
"I tried to take care of them as much as I could, which wasn't easy because I had Hamilton behind me and then Massa, but in the end my tyres lasted and we managed to get this great result."
Kubica said the win is all the more special having seen the hard work the Renault engineers back at Enstone have put in on developing the R30 over the winter.
He said: "We have put in so much hard work this winter, and we know there is still a long way to go before we are really competitive with the fastest teams, but this is a brilliant boost for everybody in the team."
Renault team principal Eric Boullier was equally as delighted, however, he also acknowledged that more work is needed to bring the R30 in line with the front-runners.
"The second place today is a fantastic result for Robert and the whole team in Enstone and Viry," said Boullier.
"We worked really hard over the winter and we can be very proud of this result.
"Although we still need to improve the car, this podium gives us all a lot of motivation to keep pushing.
"Robert drove a perfect race, looking after the car and fighting hard.
"I also have to say a big well done to the mechanics, who did an excellent job to get Robert out ahead of Massa in the pits, which was crucial for the final outcome of the race."