It was a solid début for the R31 with Vitaly Petrov qualifying sixth and then taking his first F1 podium in the opening round of in Melbourne. This was followed by an equal qualifying and race result for Nick Heidfeld in the while teammate Petrov was launched in the air by a high kerb with a few laps remaining. This was to be the last of Renault's podiums though, and they remained fourth in the Constructors' Championship after Petrov's ninth in China and their first double points score in Turkey with seventh and eighth. Heidfeld's fire in Saturday Practice meant the car was badly damaged in the , and he had to start in twenty-fourth. The R31 was repaired by Sunday though, and Heidfeld charged to the points (eighth) and pushed teammate Petrov out of them (eleventh) in the process.