Both Renault cars stopped again in Q1

Kevin Magnussen was clearly disappointed with his performance in qualifying. Indeed, the third practice session had suggested an interesting potential, thanks to settings that worked well. Despite similar weather conditions between the two sessions, the behavior of his RS16 was no longer the same in Q1: « Earlier in the day, FP3 went much better. We had a better balance between the front and rear tires. They worked well together before qualifying turned out to be a whole different challenge. If we had found that right balance again, it was possible to extract more performance from the car. »

The young Dane does, however, acknowledge his own involvement in a lap that turned out to be only the 17th of the session: « I didn’t put in an exceptional lap. We struggled to get the tires into the right operating window. So the car’s setup wasn’t perfect. »

If Jolyon Palmer finishes once again behind his teammate, the margin is very slim with only 25 thousandths separating the two drivers. Therefore, he must settle for a modest 18th place, but the Briton speaks as if he had fought for the pole: « The car was really good today. I think we found the issue that was holding us back in the last Grand Prix. We changed something, it’s working well, and it’s great to be back on the right track! It was frustrating, and I’m delighted because I can now show my potential. »

The Briton must therefore clearly feel threatened, especially since he is no longer in the good graces of his leaders, particularly Frédéric Vasseur. It will be important for him to have a good race, to avoid repeating his performance at the Chinese Grand Prix, where he finished last: « The team is a bit behind, but I’m happy behind the wheel of the R.S.16. We can therefore expect a good Grand Prix. Our race pace tends to be better than qualifying. We should be able to move up quite quickly. Our goal is clearly to challenge the drivers ahead and seize every opportunity that comes our way. »