An all-Renault front row with Fernando ahead of Giancarlo
in Montreal.
The Renault F1 Team locked out the front row for the Canadian
Grand Prix during qualifying today at Montreal's Circuit Gilles
Villeneuve, with Fernando Alonso on pole position and Giancarlo
Fisichella second. This was the team's second all-Renault
front row of the 2006 season, following on from the Spanish
Grand Prix last month, and Fernando's fifth consecutive pole
position, continuing a run that began at the Nürburgring.
Qualifying confirmed the strong performances both drivers
had put in throughout the weekend. They tuned the car set-up
throughout practice to adapt to changing circuit conditions
as the track rubbered in, and the R26 has performed faultlessly.
The car balance has been neutral, giving them confidence to
attack the chicanes and braking zones.
Tomorrow's race is expected to be run in hot conditions which
will suit the team's Michelin tyres. They have performed excellently
all weekend, offering a competitive blend of first-lap performance
and long-run consistency, and both Renault drivers hope to
make best use of those qualities to fight for the race win
tomorrow.
FA
GF
Heat 1
1:15.350
1:15.917
Heat 2
1:14.726
1:15.295
Super-Pole
1:14.942
1:15.178
Fernando Alonso, Pole position
Five pole positions in a row is something I have never experienced
and it is a fantastic feeling. The competition between myself,
Fisico and Raikkonen has been very close all weekend, and
that was how it turned out in qualifying this afternoon. The
car has felt very good from the first lap we did on Friday,
and we have only had to tune it to adapt to the changing grip
conditions. We needed to run at the end in qualifying because
the track was improving all the time, and this result was
perfect. To have an all-Renault front row at the ninth race
shows how hard the whole team is pushing to develop the car
at the moment, and they can be proud of the work they are
doing. Now, we need to finish the job tomorrow.
Giancarlo Fisichella, 2nd position
I was really pleased with the performance today – it's
fantastic to have a Renault one-two in qualifying. I made
a change to the car right before my last flying lap to add
a bit more front wing and after that, the balance felt really
good. Now we have to see what tomorrow brings, but I know
that we have a good strategy and the perfect starting position.
We have a great chance to win the race, and maybe we will
want a one-two finish there as well.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
It was a fabulous achievement to lock out the front row this
afternoon, with Fernando's fifth consecutive pole position
and a very good performance from Giancarlo. It will be a long,
tough Grand Prix but we are in a position to race hard, and
the car is clearly competitive. The Michelin tyres have been
absolutely perfect, both in terms of their single lap performance
and on the longer runs we completed yesterday and today. This
circuit has not been kind to us in the past two years, and
we will hope to put an end to that with a strong result tomorrow.
Denis Chevrier, Head of Trackside Engine Operations
We are delighted with our qualifying positions this afternoon,
especially as they have not come at the price of compromising
our race strategy. We spent the practice sessions evaluating
the tyres and tuning the aero balance, while also completing
our normal checks on the RS26 engine. Qualifying showed that
we are competitive in terms of straightline speed, and we
have prepared well for the race. This has been an excellent
start to the weekend and we intend to finish it off in the
same fashion.
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