Saturday: Renault and Alonso reconnect with pole position!

The Renault F1 Team has returned to form this season by securing the pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the team’s first pole since China 2006. After a very quiet third practice session this morning, the R29s stepped up their game at the perfect moment, and Fernando Alonso, who had already set blazing times in Q2—where the cars are fueled lightly—secured his 18th pole position.

With such tight gaps in the pack, the quantities of fuel on board will play a crucial role in the outcome of the race, and the French team acknowledges having adopted a resolutely aggressive strategy with the goal of reaching the podium!

As for Nelsinho Piquet, finally benefiting from the same technical package as Alonso, he was unable to find the pace and was eliminated in Q2. He will start tomorrow in 15th position.

Fernando Alonso – 16th and 1st

The result this afternoon is fantastic. We knew after Germany that we were more competitive and that the car had improved significantly with our recent updates, so we decided to adopt an aggressive strategy this weekend. Tomorrow, our goal is to finish on the podium, and starting from pole position gives us a good chance to achieve that. Furthermore, with three Renault engines in the top three grid positions, it’s another demonstration of the superb work done by the entire team.

Nelsinho Piquet – 14th and 15th (14th after Massa’s withdrawal):

I knew the qualifications were going to be difficult. I managed to do a good lap in Q1, but in Q2 there was a lot of traffic and I wasn’t able to replicate the time, and unfortunately, I didn’t make it to Q3. Tomorrow, it will be crucial to have a good start, and I’ll do my best to have a good race.

Pat Symonds – Technical Director:

I think that after Germany we regained a lot of confidence in the car and the developments we brought to it. So we came here with the intention of racing aggressively and by securing pole position, we accomplished the first part of our work. We now need to turn this into a good and solid result tomorrow, hopefully on the podium.