Renault - Malaysian GP - Qualifying

Today’s qualifying session saw Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet qualify in tenth and 17th places respectively for tomorrow’s Malaysian Grand Prix. Alonso, who has been suffering with an ear infection but felt much better today, gains one grid position due to a Sebastian Vettel's ten position penalty and therefore starts the 56 lap race from ninth position.

Fernando Alonso
"I had no temperature this morning so I was in better condition to drive the car. Our result today is a bit disappointing because I expected to be fifth or sixth in qualifying, but overall the car is better than in Australia, although we’re not fast enough and need to improve. We will also have to see what role KERS will play in the race tomorrow.”

Nelson Piquet
“This morning we knew that it might be a difficult qualifying session. However it could have worked out better for me this afternoon, but on my final lap I pushed a bit too hard at the end of the lap and lost three or four tenths, which proved costly. I’m obviously disappointed that I couldn’t get the most from qualifying, but I have to put this behind me and think about the race tomorrow.”

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
“It was a bit cooler as we were running later in the afternoon. The track temperature started at about 40˚C and dropped to about 36˚C, although the grip seemed reasonably constant throughout the sessions. It was tough to get into the final part of qualifying but we managed to do it with one car this weekend. The performance is not yet where we want it to be.”

"We have decided to run with quite a high fuel load so that if the weather turns bad tomorrow we will have an advantage. Our strategy will depend on the weather. It is going to be very tough tomorrow. Even starting at 5pm will give us high temperatures and high humidity. If the rain comes it will be intense and produce very difficult conditions.”