2007 Belgian Grand Prix, Saturday - 15 SEP 2007
The ING Renault F1 Team will start tomorrow's ING Belgian
Grand Prix from the fifth row of the grid after a solid, if
not spectacular, performance in qualifying.
Giancarlo Fisichella, R27-02 Heikki Kovalainen, R27-03
Q1 1:47.143, P11 1:46.971, P8
Q2 1:46.603, P11 1:46.240, P7
Q3 n/a 1:48.505, P10
Heikki Kovalainen made it into the top ten comfortably after
a strong lap in the second round put him P7, and subsequently
qualified in tenth position – although he will start
from ninth once Robert Kubica has observed an engine change
penalty. Giancarlo Fisichella failed to make it into the top
ten by just over a tenth of a second, after suffering from
a general lack of grip on his timed laps, but will nevertheless
start from the fifth row tomorrow, just behind his team-mate.
After displaying good consistency during long runs in Friday's
practice sessions, the drivers remain optimistic of a strong
performance in race conditions.
Heikki Kovalainen, P10 (P9 on grid after Kubica's penalty)
I have been very happy with the car all weekend, and our pace
in the second part of qualifying reflected that. I didn't
manage to put a good lap together on Friday, so finished quite
a long way down the times, but everything came together nicely
for me today and I was really able to push the car to the
limit. I think our starting position may reflect some differences
in strategy, as I know I put in a strong lap on my final run.
Both types of tyres were working well in practice, so I think
we should feel optimistic for every stint of the race, and
look forward to a strong, aggressive performance.
Giancarlo Fisichella, P11 (P10 after Kubica's penalty)
I was already struggling a little with the car this morning,
and didn't feel fully comfortable. And unfortunately, I had
the same problem in qualifying. The car was sliding a lot,
and it meant I just couldn't carry the speed through the corners
like I wanted to. In the end, I only missed out on the top
ten by a tenth of a second, but we know that if we don't get
everything right at the moment, then we have the risk of not
getting to the final qualifying session. Hopefully, we can
have a better race.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
This was a satisfactory day for the team, although I felt
there was more to come from qualifying than we ultimately
achieved. The fact is that the cars will line up ninth and
tenth, and they are almost certainly on higher fuel loads
than our direct competitors in front. Given the consistency
we have enjoyed on both types of Bridgestone tyre this weekend,
this should give us a good possibility of scoring points tomorrow.
Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Track Operations
We successfully completed a busy practice programme this morning,
without any problems at all. The car has performed relatively
well all weekend, particularly in Heikki's hands, and I think
we have found a good set-up for tomorrow afternoon, with competitive
strong speeds that will allow us to race strongly for position.
Clearly, we are not in a position to challenge the top teams,
but we are well prepared to try and out-race the cars around
us. We will be hoping to see the situation turn to our advantage
as the race unfolds.
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