Report – Saturday – Renault… the return!

Renault demonstrated a more-than-satisfactory level of performance today at the Montmelo circuit near Barcelona where Fernando Alonso qualified in second place, at home, while Nelson Piquet entered the final phase of the session for the first time to secure the tenth position.

The track conditions were once again ideal today, which allowed the two Losange drivers to comfortably qualify in the Top 10 of this qualifying session.

Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet were thus able to confirm the efforts made in recent weeks, and the Spaniard will start from the front row tomorrow for the fourth round of the world championship. The team is now fully focused on preparing for tomorrow’s race, which promises to be particularly competitive and in which they hope to see both drivers excel. However, rumors suggest very low fuel loads.

Fernando Alonso – 3rd and 2nd:

« I am very happy with our result today. It’s my best day since the beginning of the season and I hope to have many more like it now! The team has done a remarkable job since Bahrain. We had a disappointing start to the season, but today we are coming up for air, and this is only the first step. We have an aggressive approach for the upcoming races in order to return to the level that should be ours. This is not the time to relax; on the contrary, I believe we are even more motivated to work hard and get back to the top level. »

Nelson Piquet – 7th and 10th:

« We have worked well on the car since yesterday, I had a good second qualifying session and I am happy to have made it into Q3 for the first time. However, I feel that we could have done better. The gaps are very tight, which suggests that the race will likely be very competitive on a circuit where overtaking is difficult, but I am determined to have a great race tomorrow and to attack to the fullest. »

Pat Symonds – Executive Director of Engineering:

« It is a very good result today that acknowledges all the work done since the beginning of the season. We are very happy to see our two cars qualified in the Top 10, and Fernando’s qualification for his national Grand Prix is particularly appreciated. We must not forget to highlight Nelson’s strong effort, who has been very close to his teammate’s performances since the beginning of the weekend, which makes this qualifying session a very good result for the team. »

Denis Chevrier – Head of Trackside Engine Teams:

We now have a clearer idea of the forces at play this weekend and our relative performance level. It’s a result the team can be satisfied with today. We knew from the start of the season that Fernando was capable of extracting the best from his car, and we have worked very hard to try to give him a car worthy of his talent. There is still room for improvement, but it’s already an encouraging first step. Nelson, on his side, also had a good qualifying session, notably with a solid Q2. It remains to be seen how things will go tomorrow in the race. The gaps are extremely narrow, but we are determined to seize any opportunity to score big points here.

According to a Renault F1 press release