Lotus team principal Tony Fernandes said it was "an unbelievable feeling" to beat Vitaly Petrov's Renault in the Singapore Grand Prix.

11938 - Fernandes delighted to beat Renault

Renault struggled on the Marina Bay street circuit all weekend, with Petrov qualifying 18th, one place ahead of Heikki Kovalainen. In the race, however, Kovalainen was quick enough to use the undercut to get ahead of Petrov after the first round of pit stops, and then kept the Renault at bay despite the safety car period, eventually finishing over 15 seconds ahead. Fernandes told ESPNF1 that the result was especially sweet because Lotus hasn't been focusing on developing the current car.

"It was an unbelievable feeling, unbelievable! Because it was on pace, and Heikki drove a blinder, and towards the end of the race we were keeping pace with many of the midfield teams. Without KERS and with the minimal kind of development we had - really focusing on next year's car - I'm really, really pleased. A good day, probably our best race."

Fernandes also said the result wasn't solely because of the circuit characteristics and race circumstances, and that he was hopeful Lotus could recreate the performance.

"I'd say that the remaining circuits will be more or less the same. We should be able to hopefully match this, we'll know the tracks a bit better, and I'd say it's a good reflection of where we'll be."