Brazil Saturday quotes: Renault

Nelson Piquet - 11th: "It's clear that I would have liked to reach Q3 today. The car was working well, I was comfortable and I pushed hard, but that wasn't enough. The times are very close, just as we expect, but I must now concentrate on the race tomorrow where I will do everything to try and move forward and score some points."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: "As usual the very short lap time here produced a close grid. Nelson was very unlucky not to make Q3 as he was just a fraction slower than Fernando in Q2. But Fernando did a magnificent job as always and secured a good grid position with a sensible fuel load. We are now looking forward to the race tomorrow."

Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Track Operations: "After free practice this morning, we had realistic hopes of reaching Q3 with both cars. Nelson just missed out on a place by a few hundredths, which is frustrating for his home Grand Prix, but he will have the freedom to adapt to the conditions we get tomorrow. As this will be a 71-lap race, the strategy and starting fuel loads meant that the gaps in Q3 were especially close today. Now we have to wait for tomorrow, but we are hopeful of a positive race."