Fifth for Alonso as Grosjean struggles
Today’s qualifying session for the Singapore Grand Prix saw Fernando Alonso qualify in 6th place, but he will start from 5th following a grid penalty for Rubens Barrichello. Teammate Romain Grosjean will start the race from 19th.
Free practice 3
Fernando Alonso, R2904, 15 laps, P15, 1:49.032
Romain Grosjean, R2903, 16 laps, P19, 1:49.641
Qualifying
Fernando Alonso, R2904, P6 (starts P5), 1:49.054
Fernando: “We start the race in fifth, which is a good position for us. It might be difficult to fight for a podium tomorrow, but for sure finishing in the top five would be our main goal. Our race pace was not fantastic during practice so we need to improve that a little bit for tomorrow, otherwise we might have a defensive race as I will be determined to defend this fifth place.”
Romain Grosjean, R2903, P19, 1:48.544
Romain: “We were having problems with the brakes and the team was trying very hard to solve them, but in the end it was a difficult session. I don’t believe that 19th on the grid shows the true pace of the car so I look forward to the race where hopefully I can make some progress. I remain in a positive frame of mind and want to gain some valuable experience from this demanding track.”
Bob Bell, Team Principal: “Unfortunately Romain did not have a great qualifying session as he had brake problems which hampered his progress. In Q2, Fernando picked up pace - maybe because the track temperature was falling slightly or perhaps because the circuit was picking up grip. Whatever the reason, the balance of the car certainly improved and Fernando was able to gain time and had more confidence in the car. He did a very good job in Q3 although it’s fair to say we benefited from Barrichello’s incident, but I think it was a good solid performance considering our expectations prior to qualifying.”
