Alonso Blames Wind for Slow Lap

Spanish driver Fernando Alonso said the wind had hampered his flying lap in today's qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.

"This afternoon, the main factor was the wind," said local hero Alonso. "It was gusting very strongly while I was on the circuit, but most importantly it was very inconsistent: sometimes a tailwind, sometimes a headwind. It made it difficult to have confidence in the car's reactions, because it was changing at every corner.

"We weren't very quick in pre-qualifying, but we made some changes to make the rear end less nervous. It will be a tough race from eighth position, and our competitors are very close, but we know the R24 is competitive in race trim and I am hoping to run a strong race for my fans tomorrow."

Renault driver Alonso, second in front of his home crowd last year, will start he race from eighth position, four places behind his teammate Jarno Trulli, who enjoyed a better session despite also complaining about the effects of the wind.

"The conditions today were extremely difficult â€" the wind really affected all the drivers, I think," said Trulli. "It's a shame that we couldn't make it into the top three, but I'm still pleased with my best qualifying performance of the year.

"The handling was hard to judge during the timed lap because it was so windy, but the car balance had been good in pre-qualifying. Starting from fourth position, I will be aiming for a strong result tomorrow."