Q & A with Renault's Pat Symonds

Conducted and provided by Renault's press office.

Q. The team finished qualifying with Fernando sixth and Jarno ninth: how did the day go overall?

Pat Symonds:

"We had a reasonably straightforward day, and certainly improved the car compared to yesterday. The balance is still not perfect, but it is a lot better than it was, although some general nervousness remains. As for the drivers, we can have no complaints at all: both of them drove very good laps, and although they weren't perfect, perfection is something that is very rarely achieved in qualifying these days, owing to the number of compromises that must be made. Indeed, the whole team and the engineers have done a very good job this weekend: the circuit was very slippery yesterday and there was a danger of over-reacting to the high levels of oversteer we found ourselves battling. They made the correct choices, and we were able to make good progress today."

Q. How about the engine: is the performance step doing the job?

PS:

The B-spec RS24 engine continued to perform extremely strongly as we moved the revs up for qualifying. We are confident in using this higher level of performance throughout the race.

Q. Looking ahead to the race, there are two key parameters: tyres, and strategy. Can you tell us a little about the tyre situation?

PS:

We are happy with our tyre choice. It proved adequate in qualifying and looks like being very consistent in race conditions. On this front, the only worry is the overnight rain. This proved heavy, and it may have left the circuit a bit green; if that indeed proves to be the case, graining may become an issue.

Q. Now on to strategy - what can we expect in terms of stops?

PS:

Strategically, for the first time in 2004, this race has proved similar to last year in terms of strategy. This is mainly owing to a last-minute decision to keep the pit-lane speed limit at 80kph rather than increase it to 100kph as has been the case at other circuits this year. Last season, under similar conditions, there was a reasonable split between 2 and 3 stops and analysis of the results showed that it was probably better to do three stops at the front of the field, and two further back. It looks like this will probably be the case again, but the crossover point between two and three stops is still in question. I believe we will see most frontrunners and indeed probably most of the midfield keeping to three stops.

Q. What about the stop windows: when will the first cars be coming in?

PS:

As tyre degradation is actually quite low here, one might have thought that the first stop would come quite late. However, the times in qualifying suggest that the window is perhaps more open than might be supposed, and we may even see the first cars stopping as early as lap 9. I would expect all three-stopping cars to have got that first stop over with by lap 14.