Brazil Friday quotes: Renault
Fernando Alonso - 10th: "The grip levels were very low today, and the track was getting better and better as the session went on. That means it's difficult to draw too many conclusions about the set-up or the performance of the car, and we will have to work well this evening to anticipate how the circuit will change for tomorrow and the race
"So what counts today is the basic feeling, and it was good, with no problems at all in either session. The Michelin tyres were working well, and the car was pretty comfortable to drive. So I am feeling happy, and confident for the rest of the weekend.
Giancarlo Fisichella - 12th: "With difficult track conditions today, it was hard to put together the best lap straight away on new tyres. There is some work to do on the car balance as I had too much oversteer, especially in the second sector, but we improved the situation during practice - and we will hope to take another step forward for tomorrow.
"We will look hard at the tyre choice tonight because that will be an important factor for the rest of the weekend, but I think we are in a good position."
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: "In spite of what's at stake this weekend, we had a very normal Friday, running our usual programme evaluating the two types of Michelin tyre we have brought to this race. There does not appear to be a big difference between them at the moment, and we will study the data tonight to select the right tyre for the race.
"Both cars were suffering from some oversteer today, but we took a step in the right direction during the session and will improve further overnight. The engines performed without incident, so all in all, it was a typical Friday made up of solid race preparation."
Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Operations: "As we have become used to saying this year, this was a normal Friday for the team. This morning, we chose to swap Fernando's original engine for a unit of the same specification that was installed in the spare car, because the latest results of our dyno testing in Viry indicated it offered us the optimum performance-reliability compromise.
"This unit functioned faultlessly today, as did the E specification engine in Giancarlo's car. On the engine side, we did plenty of laps and have the data we needed to conduct our usual approval processes, and fine-tune the mapping of the V8's.
"As always, much of the day was devoted to fine-tuning the chassis set-up, which is particularly important at such a tricky circuit. We made solid progress, and will continue in the same direction tomorrow."
Share Or Save This Story
Eight shock Formula 1 team principal changes
The key moments in Renault's F1 history as it bids farewell
How Renault overcame early hiccups to prove its worth in F1
WRC Canary Islands: Ogier heads Toyota 1-2-3-4-5 after dominant Friday
Why Marquez can only "survive" in Spanish GP despite return to full fitness
What Apple TV’s F1® coverage delivers for fans in the U.S.
What other tracks should return to the F1 calendar? Our writers have their say
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments