French GP: Renault Saturday qualifying notes

The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team obtained a satisfactory result in second qualifying today at Magny-Cours. After a good morning's work, the two drivers placed the team in a position to challenge for points in tomorrow's race. In spite of a small engine problem just before the start of the session, which was subsequently resolved, Jarno Trulli finished sixth, while Fernando Alonso will start from the fourth row of the grid tomorrow, in seventh.

Jarno Trulli, 6th, 1:15.967

"I am extremely happy with the result today. I had some difficulty in finding a good set-up at the start of the morning, but we made good progress. However, when you look at the teams in front, I don't think we can compete for victory tomorrow. Having said that, tomorrow will be a long race and we can still be confident of a good result."

Fernando Alonso, 7th, 1:16.087

"My lap was pretty good. I had a problem-free day, completing lots of laps on race and tyre preparation work. As for the flying lap, I'm happy with it: I didn't make any mistakes, and the balance was good, which allowed me to achieve the car's potential today. In terms of the strategy, I am confident that the race will once again see us score some more championship points."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering:

"Good laps from both drivers today, and we managed to achieve a reasonable balance on the cars although, as always, we would welcome a little more grip. The wet weather yesterday makes it more difficult to predict the other fuel loads, but we feel we are in a competitive position. As can be seen from the times, the Michelin tyres are very competitive, and should stand up equally well in the race."

Denis Chevrier, Engine Operations Manage:

"Today's results demonstrate that, although we cannot expect to compete for the win, we are legitimate and serious challengers for tomorrow's race, and are well placed to make the most of any incidents. We had a problem with Jarno's engine just before the session began, but managed to solve it in time for his run. Once again, our drivers' performances are very close and, for tomorrow, the current unstable balance between the top teams would only need to shift a little for us to score a podium finish."

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