Chinese GP,
The Renault F1 Team locked out the front row for tomorrow's
Chinese Grand Prix during the most exciting qualifying session
of the 2006 season.
After a damp morning practice in which both cars looked competitive
on Michelin's intermediate and dry tyres, the team began the
wet qualifying session in confident mood. The rain continued
on-off throughout the session, but the Michelin intermediate
tyre performed exceptionally in every situation.
Fernando Alonso topped the times in every part of the qualifying
session, ultimately taking his sixth pole position of the
2006 season, while Giancarlo Fisichella will line up second
– repeating the Renault F1 Team's front row lockout
from the 2005 Chinese Grand Prix. With weather forecasts remaining
uncertain for tomorrow, the team is confident in its performance
in all conditions but only too aware that today's performance
is nothing more than a promising starting point for a crucial
race in this season's championship fight.
FA Part One 1:44.128 Part Two 1:43.951 Super
Pole 1:44.360
GF Part One1:44.378 Part Two1:44.336 Super
Pole1:44.992
Fernando Alonso, Pole position
It is fantastic to be back on pole for the first time since
Canada. It was a difficult qualifying session, very busy and
very complicated for all the drivers, but the Michelin tyres
were fantastic and gave us exactly what we needed to do the
job. Looking for tomorrow, nothing is certain with the weather,
but I am confident we can be competitive in both conditions.
We haven't done much dry running yet this weekend, but from
what we have seen, the car seems to be very competitive. If
it is wet, we know we are quick – but also that many
more things can happen. Obviously, this is a great team result
when the championship is so tight, but we haven't done the
job yet. I will stay focused, concentrate on doing a good
race – and race for the win.
Giancarlo Fisichella, 2nd position
The car has been quick all weekend, and I am really pleased
to be on the front row with Fernando. This is a great result
for me because I am in a good position to catch up Massa in
the championship, and for the team it is the perfect starting
point. The conditions were very tricky during the session,
and I spun in the second session – so the pressure was
on to get my lap done. After that, it was a question of repeating
the performance in the third part, and making the most of
the opportunity to qualifying at the front. I think we have
a strong strategy, and good performance in all conditions.
I am looking forward to a very competitive race.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
A qualifying performance such as this is always particularly
satisfying, but with the championship so delicately poised,
it is an extra bonus. Our grid positions give us the opportunity
for a very good race tomorrow, but above all this weekend
has shown that the Renault is very quick here, irrespective
of weather conditions. This afternoon's session was particularly
fraught, and the whole team is to be congratulated on a disciplined
and faultless performance. Thanks are also due to our partners
at Michelin. Fernando's pole position once again demonstrated
the quality of the Michelin tyre in wet conditions. We had
seen it in Hungary, and today reinforced it. Even more gratifying
is the fact that we also appear to have an extremely competitive
dry tyre.
Denis Chevrier, Head of Trackside Engine Operations
This morning's damp and changing conditions in practice left
us unable to make our usual calculations as to the relative
performance of our competitors, and we went into qualifying
with less information than usual as to our overall level of
performance. Today's qualifying session was equally difficult
to decode, but we are extremely pleased with the performances
of both drivers. On the engine side, we were pleased to see
the new evolution of the RS26 V8 gave the drivers both the
power they needed to be competitive, as the straightline speeds
showed, and the driveability that is so important in wet conditions.
The car has been working well since the start of the weekend,
and Michelin have done an exceptional job. We now need to
maintain our concentration, and focus on the most important
part of the weekend – tomorrow afternoon's race. We
start it from the best possible position.
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