It’s frustrating - Permane

The ING Renault F1 Team’s chief engineer, Alan Permane, talks about what was a difficult qualifying session for the team. Heikki Kovalainen touched the wall during the first part of the session. The young Finn qualified 19th on today's grid, but as he got an engine penalty, he'll start from 22nd position. Team mate Fisichella will start from 9th position.

"It was a bit perturbed. Heikki could only manage a long run on hard tyres before his engine let go. Then the session was interrupted for over 15 minutes and when it restarted, Giancarlo only had time to do a single run on soft rubber. He said he was very satisfied with his car’s behaviour."

"That’s putting it mildly! In part 1 Heikki went off and hit the wall. He damaged his rear wing and flat bottom. The suspension was okay as the wheel and tyre and absorbed the impact. We were only able to replace the wing before sending him out again. He could not qualify for the next part as his car lost a lot of its aerodynamic efficiency, probably because of the damaged floor."

"Everything went very well in parts one and two but in part three it didn’t work out as we’d hoped. He made a few mistakes and finished ninth. It’s frustrating."

"It’s true. In that sense it’s better to be in ninth place here than in Barcelona or Monaco as you can overtake, and there’s often a bit of pushing and shoving in the first corner. It means that nothing’s lost for tomorrow and we’re highly motivated."