GP – A Slight Taste of Incompleteness for Renault

After a final practice session this morning on a drying track, the track conditions improved significantly in the early afternoon for the qualifying session, although the level of grip remained much lower than what the teams could have expected for this weekend.

Nelson Piquet saw his qualifying session greatly shortened as he failed to qualify for the second phase and finally secured 17th place on the grid for tomorrow’s Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso, for his part, comfortably entered the Top 10 and the final qualifying phase. He secured the seventh fastest time, which allows him to hope for scoring big points tomorrow afternoon.

Fernando Alonso – 2nd and 7th:

« Today we entered the Top 10 and Q3 quite easily again. We secured seventh place on the grid, more or less what we had planned, although I think we could have done a little better. »

« For tomorrow, the start will be crucial, just like the first laps of the race, but I think we can fight for some points. It is important, I believe, not to forget where we were just two races ago. We are making progress, that’s undeniable. »

Nelson Piquet – 10th and 17th:

« I am obviously disappointed today after my performance in qualifying. I finished 17th while my teammate easily made it into Q3. This does not bode well for an easy race for me tomorrow, but I will do my best to climb back. We will work with my engineers tonight to hopefully make some progress here and there; after that, it will be up to me to do what is necessary on the track. »

Pat Symonds – Executive Director of Engineering:

« It is a shame to see Nelson fail at the end of the first round of qualifying while he was still in the rhythm of his teammate this morning. But qualifying is a difficult exercise; the competition is severe, and you have to be able to put together a good lap at the right time. »

« However, I remain convinced that he will be able to have a strong race tomorrow. Fernando qualified quite well given the current circumstances. Let’s see if our strategy will allow us to move up in the field. »

Denis Chevrier – Head of Trackside Engine Teams:

« We may not have had the perfect qualifying lap today, but Fernando ended up where we expected him to be. The competition was once again very tight and while a few drivers seem to be ahead of the pack, we can fight for some big points tomorrow on merit and potentially take advantage of a competitor’s weakness.

« The weekend is therefore an extension of the one in Barcelona, which is encouraging. For Nelson, on the other hand, it’s a disappointment, as there is no strategy that fully allows for overcoming such a disadvantage. He will have to prepare for a difficult race, and we will do our utmost to support him. »

According to a Renault F1 press release