Korea Friday quotes: Renault

Vitaly Petrov - 8th: "The track was very dirty in the morning and afternoon, but it was always improving. We are still learning about the track and it was not easy to find the grip and a good set-up. The track is nice to drive, very smooth, and the race will be quite interesting because there is a lot of tyre degradation here. We still have a lot of work to do, but our pace is not too bad and we just need to continue to work in the same way tomorrow."

Q & A with Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer:

Q. Alan, how was the team's first day in Korea?

AP: It's been a fairly calm day with both cars. We worked through our programmes and did a little bitmore running than we would normally do in first practice because it's a new circuit. Overall we've had a strong, competitive day and we're very happy with the work we've completed.

Q. Tell us about the track conditions...

AP: It was very slippery this morning, but it steadily improved throughout the day and it was better with every lap.

Q. What challenges does a constantly evolving track pose for setting up the car?

AP: It's a bit like being in Monaco where the track changes very rapidly. It's difficult to do back-to-back tests because whatever you do the track is invariably quicker the next time you run, so you have to take that into account. In terms of preparing for qualifying, we can try and predict the lap time we expect in qualifying, but you also have to work with the track conditions as they are and maximise the grip you have at the time.

Q. How do you judge the team's competitiveness here?

AP: It's always difficult to know exactly where you stand on a Friday, but we have a reasonable idea of our competitiveness relative to the other teams and we're quite happy with our day.