Renault happy to get both cars in Q3
Lotus Renault were satisfied to see both cars in action in Q3. Vitaly finished 9th while Nick Heidfeld, on a wet weather set-up ended up in 10th place. The best times of both cars were closely matched, in the end totalling just 0.023 seconds.
The difference in car set-up is obvious at their top speed in sectors 2 and 3: 293.4 vs 289.4 km/h, and 298 vs 293.3 km/h
Vitaly Petrov, R31-05, P10, 1:14.085:
Tyres: new softs x 2 in Q1, new supersofts x 1 in Q2, new super softs x 2 in Q3
“The track temperatures were much lower than yesterday and it was very difficult to warm-up the tyres properly throughout qualifying. As a result, I was lacking grip out there and I lost a bit of time during my quickest lap. This said, Nick and I got to Q3 and this is a good thing considering the problems we had in Monaco. Looking ahead to tomorrow, it is really difficult to make any prediction. Montreal is almost always a crazy race and the safety car is often a part of it. Also, the weather forecast is looking unsettled so we can expect anything. As a result, tomorrow will be a case of adapting ourselves to the conditions and taking every single opportunity.”
Nick Heidfeld, R31-04, P9, 1.14.062:
Tyres: new softs x 2 in Q1, new supersofts x 2 in Q2, scrubbed super softs and new super softs in Q3
“I am extremely happy because I think I achieved the maximum I could have done today. We actually drove with more downforce than normal, as we were gambling a bit and hoping for wet conditions tomorrow. We made some minor adjustments with the car today and certainly got what we could have done from it. I’m also happier with how I’m driving on the supersoft tyres; yesterday I was not satisfied but today I really got used to them, and I think that showed through my lap times. Obviously you always want to be higher up than P9 but being in the top ten is satisfying and we will try to improve on this tomorrow by securing a good pace and gaining some places.”
