Renault thanks Fisichella and Kovalainen

Following the announcement of its 2008 drivers, ING Renault F1 Team would like to thank its drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen for their performance this year.

For ING Renault F1 Team, 2007 was a somewhat disappointing year. After two consecutive world championship titles, the team indeed hoped to be able to fight at the forefront once again this year.

However, difficulties in understanding the Bridgestone tires, coupled with other technical problems, complicated the task of the team, which had to work throughout the year to analyze and resolve this performance deficit.

The team’s drivers, Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen, have proven to be instrumental in this process, and their remarkable work has helped the team make progress throughout the year.

Kovalainen secured the first podium of his career in the top category with his second place in Japan, while Giancarlo Fisichella’s best result remains his fourth place in Monaco.

« I would like to take this opportunity to thank Giancarlo and Heikki for their work throughout this season, which has been difficult for us, » commented Flavio Briatore, the Managing Director of ING Renault F1 Team.

« We hoped to be able to fight for victory but that was ultimately not the case. Rather than giving up, they both, on the contrary, invested even more to try to turn things around.

« Giancarlo’s experience proved crucial in helping us improve our performance level, and he leaves the team after being a key element in our two world titles in 2005 and 2006. We would like to thank him for that and wish him the best for his future. »

The first season for Heikki was quite challenging, but he tackled these challenges one by one and emerged stronger. He proved to the Formula 1 world that he was fast, intelligent, committed, and fully capable of winning races in the future.

« We are proud to have enabled him to enter Formula 1 and we wish him all the best for the rest of his career, which undoubtedly promises to be great, » concluded Briatore.

According to ING Renault F1 Team