Renault still slower than expected
Even despite his ear infection, Fernando Alonso will still disappointed with his 9th place on the grid for tomorrow's GP of Malaysia. Nelson Piquet meanwhile pushed too hard once again and ended up missing Q3, another disappointment for him and his team.
Fernando Alonso: "I had no temperature this morning so I was in better condition to drive the car. Our result today is a bit disappointing because I expected to be fifth or sixth in qualifying, but overall the car is better than in Australia, although we're not fast enough and need to improve. We will also have to see what role KERS will play in the race tomorrow."
Free practice: 16 laps, P14, 1:37.004
Run 1: 6 laps, new hard tyres
Run 2: 6 laps, same hard tyres, change to rear suspension
Run 3: 3 laps, new soft tyres, return to original rear suspension setting
Qualifying: P10 (starts P9), 1:37.659
Q1 2 runs on news soft tyres
Q2 2 runs on new soft tyres
Q3 1 run on used soft tyres
Nelson Piquet: "This morning we knew that it might be a difficult qualifying session. However it could have worked out better for me this afternoon, but on my final lap I pushed a bit too hard at the end of the lap and lost three or four tenths, which proved costly. I'm obviously disappointed that I couldn't get the most from qualifying, but I have to put this behind me and think about the race tomorrow."
Free practice: 18 laps, P16, 1:37.032
Run 1: 5 laps, new hard tyres
Run 2: 7 laps, new hard tyres, change to aero settings
Run 3: 5 laps, new soft tyres, more downforce on front wing
Qualifying: P17, 1:35.708
Q1 1 run on new hard tyres, 2 runs on new soft tyres
Track conditions: "It was a bit cooler as we were running later in the afternoon. The track temperature started at about 40˚C and dropped to about 36˚C, although the grip seemed reasonably constant throughout the sessions."
Performance summary: "It was tough to get into the final part of qualifying but we managed to do it with one car this weekend. The performance is not yet where we want it to be."
Strategy and fuel load: "We have decided to run with quite a high fuel load so that if the weather turns bad tomorrow we will have an advantage. Our strategy will depend on the weather."
Outlook for the race: "It is going to be very tough tomorrow. Even starting at 5pm will give us high temperatures and high humidity. If the rain comes it will be intense and produce very difficult conditions."
Source: Renault F1
