Bahraini GP, Saturday - 11 MAR 2006
The Renault F1 Team completed an exciting first qualifying
session under the new-for-2006 format disappointed to see
its drivers only 4th (Fernando Alonso) and 9th (Giancarlo
Fisichella) on the grid for the 2006 Bahraini Grand Prix.
As expected, the format created both surprise and incident
during the hour, which intensified when Kimi Raikkonen brought
out the red flag with just 5 minutes to go of the first session.
In spite of this, both Renaults successfully negotiated the
first two Heats of qualifying, but were unable to extract
maximum performance during the final Super-pole session.
Fernando Alonso set his fastest time on his second quick
lap at the end of the Super-pole, thus sacrificing some tyre
performance, while Giancarlo Fisichella suffered a loss of
performance from the moment he fitted new tyres, which left
him only ninth at the end of the hour. However, in spite of
this disappointment, both drivers remain confident in their
race strategy, and the innate pace of the R26. Only as the
race unfolds tomorrow, will the true state of play emerge.
Fernando Alonso
A pretty disappointing result for me really. The qualifying
session was very busy, like we expected, and as I had said
before the weekend, it didn't change too much for me because
the aim was still to complete three quick laps during the
hour. The car felt good, and we didn't make any changes to
the front wing or anything, but I made a mistake on my first
timed lap at the end of the session, and that meant I had
to do another one. Obviously, the tyres weren't in such a
good condition by then, which meant I ended up only P4. Still,
the second row is not too bad, we know the car is quick, so
let's see what happens tomorrow.
Giancarlo Fisichella
I am really disappointed to be only ninth. We saw the car
was competitive in the two qualifying Heats, as we could set
good times quite easily. Things were running smoothly, until
I put the new tyres on and suddenly the performance was not
there – I lost a lot of speed, and just couldn't do
the times we should have been capable of. We don't know why
yet, so we will be looking carefully tonight. Still, I think
it was quite an exciting hour for the spectators with lots
happening on track, and we have a good strategy. Even from
ninth, we can have a strong race.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
There was a lot for the teams to learn today to maximise their
performance under the new rules and as always, we did some
things well, and there is still room to improve on others.
With Fernando, we fortunately left ourselves a safety margin
at the end of the Super-pole session. This meant that when
his first lap on new tyres was not competitive, he was able
to continue on a second quick lap. Giancarlo lost speed as
soon as he put new tyres on, and we do not yet know why. From
a team point of view, we are on the second row with what we
believe to be a competitive strategy which bodes well. Our
main concern is with identifying and resolving the problem
with Giancarlo's car before assessing his chances.
Denis Chevrier, Head of Trackside Engine Operations
We saw plenty of incident during the new qualifying format
but in the end, for the Renault team, the deciding factor
was once again the ability to extract maximum performance
over a single timed lap – just like last year. Fernando
made a mistake on his first lap and set his fastest time on
the second, which puts his relatively high grid position in
a favourable light. Things were less positive for Giancarlo,
who did not have a normal level of performance at his disposal
as his car lost speed during the final part of the Super-pole
session. We will be investigating this closely tonight to
find the reason. As for the overall picture, we find ourselves
in a very similar situation to last year, with the same question
marks at the same point of the weekend. I think the real picture
will only begin to be clear after the first dozen laps of
the race.
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