Piquet hits brake problems, Alonso takes 8th on Turkish grid
Today’s qualifying session saw Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet qualify in 8th and 17th places respectively for tomorrow’s Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park. While Alonso made it into Q3, Piquet was playing in the sand box after loosing a brake duct.
FREE PRACTICE 3
Fernando Alonso: 15 laps, P19, 1:29.261 on lap 13
Run 1: 4 laps, new hard tyres
Run 2: 4 laps, same set of hard tyres, change to rear springs
Run 3: 6 laps, new soft tyres
Nelson Piquet: 15 laps, P11, 1:28.503 on lap 5
Run 1: 7 laps, new soft tyres
Run 2: 7 laps, new hard times
QUALIFYING
Fernando Alonso P8, 1:29.075
Q1: 1 run of 2 laps on new soft tyres, 1 run of 2 laps on new hard tyres
Q2: 2 runs on new soft tyres
Q3:1 run on used soft tyres, 2 runs on new soft tyres
Fernando: “I have mixed feelings from this qualifying session. Q2 was really difficult and we only just made it through to Q3 in tenth position, but our level of performance and lack of pace meant we could only manage eighth on the grid, which is a bit disappointing. Unfortunately I will start from the dirty side of the track, which will make the start of the race difficult, but I still hope that I can challenge for some good points in the race.”
Nelson Piquet, P17, 1:28.582
Q1: 2 runs on new soft tyres
Nelson: “I knew I had a brake problem from the beginning of qualifying and so I was being cautious, but it wasn’t easy as the track was so slippery. On the last run the problem got worse and I spun off. However, I will remain positive for tomorrow as this is a track with good overtaking opportunities and hopefully we can have a strong race.”
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: “Nelson dropped out of qualifying after loosing a brake duct which overheated his brakes and caused him to spin. We had hoped for a slightly higher position for Fernando after second qualifying but bearing in mind our fuel load we are not in a bad position for the race.”
