Renault chief rues missed opportunity

Renault boss Flavio Briatore has revealed his “major disappointment” at their pointless Belgian Grand Prix.

Briatore’s two cars started first and third but ended the Spa-Francorchamps race without a single point to show for that promise.

Jarno Trulli led early on but a mystery mechanical problem saw him slide down the field to finish ninth, while team-mate Fernando Alonso spun out of the lead when his engine dumped oil over his rear wheels.

Briatore was furious after seeing Renault blow a chance to pull clear of BAR in the race for second in the constructors’ championship.

BAR’s Jenson Button and Takuma Sato both retired and Briatore said: “This result is a major disappointment for the team.

“We had a great chance to score points and strengthen our position in the championship, even after Fernando had retired, but instead we came away empty-handed.

“Fernando suffered from a reliability problem, and we need to resolve this before the final four races of the season. As for Jarno’s loss in performance, we are at a loss to explain what happened.

“It is only a small consolation that BAR failed to score points.”

Alonso put a brave face on his disappointment after losing his chance for victory on a track where he won his first Formula 3000 race four years ago.

The Spaniard said: “You can never know what might have been, but it certainly feels like a missed opportunity for me.

“Having said that, the championship is what matters at this stage of the year, and although we didn’t score points, neither did our main competitors. That limits the damage.”