Renault pleased with Spanish qualifying session
Renault F1 Team driver and home crowd sweetheart Fernando Alonso managed to make it into Q3 at the Circuit de Catalunya. The Spaniard will start his home race from 8th on the grid. Team mate Nelson Piquet Jr. made it into Q2 but couldn't do better than a 12th position.
Fernando Alonso: 17 laps, P10, 1:21.499 on lap 15
Run 1: 6 laps, new hard tyres
Run 2: 6 laps, new hard tyres, change to front anti-roll bar and rear ride height
Run 3: 4 laps, new soft tyres
Nelson Piquet: 18 laps, P15, 1:21.685 on lap 17
Run 1: 6 laps, new hard tyres
Run 2: 6 laps, new hard tyres, change to aero levels
Run 3: 5 laps, new soft tyres
QUALIFYING
Fernando Alonso P8, 1:21.392
Q1: 1 run on new hard tyres, 1 run on new soft tyres
Q2: 2 runs on new soft tyres
Q3: 1 run on used soft tyres, 1 run on new soft tyres
Fernando: "I think that we did our maximum this afternoon. We were quick and have closed the gap with the leaders, although it was a bit close in Q2 where we were 10th. For the race tomorrow we know that the seven cars in front are quicker and the ones behind us are quite heavy on fuel and could jump ahead of us during the pit stops, so it might be difficult to keep our position. Nonetheless we need to score points and that will be our aim in tomorrow's race."
Nelson Piquet, P12, 1:20.604
Q1: 1 run on new hard tyres, 2 runs on new soft tyres
Q2: 2 runs on new soft tyres
Nelson: "It was another really close session and all the cars were very competitive, especially in Q1. I was happy with the car as we had improved the balance this morning, but I just missed out on the top ten which is a bit disappointing. Still, starting 12th is not too bad and we have been free to choose our fuel load and have a strategy that we hope will help us move forward during the race."
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
"Everyone was looking forward to Barcelona to see how the teams' updates might change the relative positions. We can see that Ferrari have made a step forward, but overall the status quo has remained. Fernando has done a great job once again and he has a good grid position for his home Grand Prix. Nelson is also well placed and although he just missed out on the top 10, he is extremely close to Fernando's performance and has the ability to have a very successful race tomorrow."
