Kovalainen: Renault back on track

Kovalainen and his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella locked out the third row of the grid at Magny-Cours and the Finn is upbeat that the team now have BMW Sauber firmly in their sights.

"I think that had everything gone well, without any problems, we could have been ahead of both of the BMWs," said Kovalainen, who starts sixth right behind teammate Fisichella.

"Potentially, we have the pace to do that, which is very encouraging.

"Obviously, you never know what happens next weekend - I am sure they are working flat-out to stay ahead. But right now it looks like they are the closest rival to us, and we've go to obviously beat them, and then after that we can chase McLaren and Ferrari.

"We must just keep pushing like we have done since the beginning of the season. The team has done a great job of fixing a lot of problems. Now, we just have to start the season from here, and improve the car, and hopefully we can fight with everybody."

Kovalainen believes that much of the progress Renault have made this season has come from making the car more consistent for the drivers.

"The most different thing from the beginning of the season is the car. It is so different to drive; so much easier, and so much more consistent. I can push like I want to.

"And obviously, having done all the practice sessions at the last few races, it does help to find the balance. If you hit the wall in every practice session and sit on the side of the track, it doesn't help. So things are coming together nicely."

Kovalainen's hopes of an even better qualifying result in France were dashed by a power-steering problem. He is confident, however, that the issue will be rectified for the race.

"We can change it. With the regulations, if something like that fails, we can get permission from the FIA and we can change it. So we can fix the problem. It is no problem. In any case, I am in a good position for the race, and I am looking forward to that."