Spanish GP: Renault Saturday notes

An excellent qualifying session for the Mild Seven Renault F1 Team today at the Circuit de Catalunya saw both drivers qualifying in the top ten in spite of a red flag which interrupted their running. Jenson Button will start from 6th position on tomorrow's grid while team-mate Jarno Trulli will be ninth, having qualified in the spare car (chassis R202-01) following problems throughout the weekend with his race car.

Jarno Trulli, 9th position

"Up until now, we didn't understand why I wasn't competitive, so we decided to take the spare car for qualifying. I took it quite easy for the first run, because there are so many unknown factors with a new car. I made a mistake during the second and came straight back into the pits, even though the lap would have been quicker. I lost the third run because of the red flag, which meant I really had to make the last one count. The car was working very well, and I finally found the pace we had been looking for all weekend."

Jenson Button, 6th position

"I'm pleased! The car was very well balanced and handled really well, although I had a little oversteer in the high-speed corners. Seeing as I only managed two timed runs, I'm very happy to have qualified sixth, in front of one of the McLarens."

Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director, Mild Seven Renault F1 Team

"An excellent session for both drivers. Jenson has been very competitive all weekend, and has reason to be pleased with his best qualifying of the season. As for Jarno, he did a terrific job in the T-car, given that he also lost two runs. In these circumstances, it's fantastic to be in the top ten."

Denis Chevrier, Head of Race Engineering (Engine), Mild Seven Renault F1 Team

"We have a number of reasons to be pleased after qualifying today. Although the session was disrupted by a number of sporting incidents, we had no problems on the technical side. Jenson confirmed the level of competitiveness we had hoped for following practice, whilst the relative performance of the two drivers was much more in keeping with normal compared to this morning. During just two timed laps, Jenson managed to give a good account of our position relative to the competition."

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