Formula 1
British GP: Renault Saturday qualifying notes
The ING Renault F1 Team this afternoon continued its run of improved qualifying form, as it placed its two cars seventh and eighth on the grid for tomorrow's British Grand Prix at Silverstone. For the third consecutive race, both Renault drivers ...
Published: Jul 8, 2007, 5:01 AM
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The ING Renault F1 Team this afternoon continued its run of improved qualifying form, as it placed its two cars seventh and eighth on the grid for tomorrow's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
For the third consecutive race, both Renault drivers qualified comfortably inside the top ten, confirming the team's recent progress in terms of outright performance. From the perspective of the constructors' championship, the team's race tomorrow will once again be with BMW -- and like last week in Magny-Cours, the two German cars sandwich the two Renaults on the grid. The target will be to maintain the strong qualifying speed of the R27 throughout the race, and to make the most of well-executed race strategies to try and claw back points from BMW by the chequered flag.
Heikki Kovalainen: 7th
"When you come out of qualifying, you always think you could have done a little better on the last timed lap -- and for me, I felt I made a small mistake that cost me some time. But once again, our result this afternoon shows we are heading in the right direction, as I got into Q3 for the third consecutive time."
"Toyota were the surprise for us this afternoon, as they have been much stronger than they were in France -- and we will need a good strategy to beat them. For me, the first target for tomorrow is to get round the first lap without any problems, unlike in Magny-Cours. Then we need a consistent performance from the car all through the stints, and a good strategy. I'm confident we will have that, and that we can make up positions in the race."
Giancarlo Fisichella: 8th
"It was a very tight session all the way through the field, but it was very clean for us, with no problems and the car working well. My only problem came on the most important lap, the last timed one, when a small problem with the brakes meant I missed the line through turns four and five -- which probably cost me a couple of tenths."
"Looking ahead to the race, the car performed consistently on the long runs yesterday, so I think we can feel positive for tomorrow afternoon. After that, we will have to race hard, and try to take points away from BMW."
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering:
"Our aim at the moment is to qualify and race with BMW, and we appear to have achieved that this afternoon. The windy conditions are still making life difficult for the drivers and engineers, but the recent improvements we have made to the driveability of the car have undoubtedly helped us cope with this factor."
"As always, tomorrow's race will be hard-fought, and tough for both the drivers and the cars on such a punishing circuit. But I feel confident that we can race strongly all the way through, to achieve a good result."
Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Track Operations:
"Silverstone is well-known as a selective circuit for the cars, so it is not particularly surprising to see the top ten positions on the grid filled by just five teams. Judging by recent form, the unexpected factor is to see Toyota among those top five teams -- and Ralf, in particular, could be troublesome in tomorrow's race starting from the third row."
"This is a tough circuit in every respect: for the engines, for the chassis under high aerodynamic load, and physically for the drivers. We will need to be at our best in every area tomorrow afternoon, to try and maximise our points score behind the two fastest teams -- and to try and pick up any crumbs that should fall from their top table, should they encounter problems in the race."
Giancarlo Fisichella
Chassis: R27-05
1:20.775, 8th
Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: R27-03
1:20.721, 7th
-credit: renault
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