Repairs for Alonso

The FIA yesterday permitted Renault to replace damaged components on Fernando Alonso's car after he hit debris during his qualifying lap. Alonso took to the circuit for his final flyer but hit one of the ballast blocks left on the track after Takuma Sato's BAR hit the kerb and spun on the previous lap.

Fernando Alonso.

Photo by Brousseau Photo.

"When Sato hit the kerbs, he knocked ballast blocks off the car," explained Renault's executive director of engineering Pat Symonds. "We could see they were heavy because the marshal needed two hands to pick one up!"

"Unfortunately, another was left on the circuit and Fernando hit it extremely hard, causing considerable damage to the floor of the car, which cost him aerodynamic performance around the lap."

Alonso had been third in pre-qualifying and finally qualified fifth, no mean feat considering the damage: "In light of this, fifth place is certainly a highly-creditable position," Symonds added.