Saturday: Renault simply not competitive enough

The Renault F1 Team experienced quite a peculiar Saturday with good hopes for success in the morning, before having a disappointing qualifying session.

Fernando Alonso narrowly managed to reach Q2 but stopped there due to the R29’s lack of performance, despite being eagerly anticipated at Spa. As for Romain Grosjean, after good free practice sessions that took him to 4th position in the morning, the Frenchman was hindered in his last run by a Toro Rosso and the yellow flag following Badoer’s off-track excursion.

Starting from the 13th and 19th positions, the Renault F1 Team drivers will need to push hard and optimize their strategy to work their way up to the points.

Fernando Alonso – 17th and 13th:

«Today, we simply weren’t competitive enough. We struggled in Q1 as well as Q2. I gave my all, but it wasn’t enough. That being said, the qualifying session was quite unusual and several typically fast competitors were affected. Tomorrow, the race should be interesting, and the weather could also play a part. So we won’t give up and we’ll do our best to bounce back. »

Romain Grosjean – 4th and 19th:

My qualifications were difficult today because I encountered a lot of traffic. I was blocked twice by a Toro Rosso during my fast laps, and then my last attempt was disrupted by a yellow flag. That said, the car has been good all weekend, and I love this circuit. So I will give my best to move up the rankings, finish the race, and gain experience.

Pat Symonds – Executive Director of Engineering:

Today, we witnessed the formation of an unusual grid, but unfortunately, we are not in the upper part. It has been difficult to determine our performance level this weekend because the times have been very close. Fernando just missed Q3, while Romain was slowed down by traffic. We now need to study how we can refine our strategy to score points tomorrow.

According to a statement from the Renault F1 Team