Saturday: Renault is a bit tight in Monaco

Renault participated today in the sixth qualifying session of the 2009 World Championship. Fernando Alonso qualified in 9th position while Nelson Piquet will start from 12th place for tomorrow’s race.

The Brazilian is making progress with his qualifying sessions as he made it into Q2 today. However, he was too close to hope for Q1. His teammate, the double world champion from Spain, achieved the feat of being the fastest during this morning’s final practice. However, his qualifying session was just decent. He could do nothing against the power of the Brawn or Ferrari.

Fernando Alonso – 1st and 9th:

Overall, I am satisfied with my performance. I did everything I could today. At the end of the session, I found myself stuck behind slower cars and couldn’t improve, but honestly, 9th place reflects the performance level of our car as I was 12th in Q1 and 9th in Q2. We need to improve our overall performance.

Nelson Piquet – 15th and 12th:

« I am not 100% satisfied because the addition of my three best sectors would have placed me in the top 10. The car wasn’t perfect, I was pushing very hard but the brake balance was an issue. That said, considering Thursday’s performance, I think my position is not that bad. Starting from 12th place is OK, but we now need to study the best possible strategy to get back in the race. »

Pat Symonds – Executive Director of Engineering.

« It was a disappointing qualifying session. The car was well-balanced this morning, but we lacked that extra grip that makes the difference this afternoon. »

According to a statement from Renault F1 Team