Saturday: Renault is in trouble for its last race

The Renault F1 Team experienced a difficult qualifying session today at the Yas Marina circuit, as Fernando Alonso and Romain Grosjean will start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from the 16th and 19th positions on the grid tomorrow. Neither driver managed to make it past Q1 to qualify in the top 15.

Once again, the final practice session ended in disappointment for the French team, as neither Alonso nor Grosjean performed better. It’s true, the 18th time against the 19th for the young rookie, but at this level, it doesn’t matter! Therefore, race conditions and strategies will have to be adapted for the tide to turn tomorrow for the race. It will be held under the same conditions as the qualifiers.

Fernando Alonso – 16th and 15th (16th fastest):

« Getting knocked out of qualifying after Q1 is, of course, very disappointing. I would have liked to qualify higher and, even though the team did its best to prepare the car, I wasn’t fast enough and couldn’t set a good time. Tomorrow will be my last race with Renault, and I will do my best to achieve a good result. »

Romain Grosjean – 18th and 19th:

« We experienced a difficult session. We lacked performance, but we still thought we could make it into Q2. We did everything we could, but unfortunately, our journey ended in Q1. It will be important not to make mistakes and to finish the race as high up in the standings as possible tomorrow. »

Bob Bell – Team Principal:

« Our result today is disappointing. That said, we haven’t been competitive this weekend and this ranking is not a surprise. We thought we could make it to Q2 with Fernando, so it was even more disappointing not to achieve that goal. However, we remain confident for the race and will seize any opportunity. We will prepare as best as possible and see how the race unfolds. »

According to a statement from the Renault F1 Team