Saturday: Renault is up to the mark for the first qualifications!

Renault did not underestimate itself during the winter tests, but the French manufacturer did not expect to achieve its goal in the very first qualifying sessions of the season: entering Q3. And yet, that is the result Robert Kubica achieved at the wheel of the R30 today.

The Polish driver allows Renault to enter the top 10, with a ninth place and great possibilities for the race tomorrow. Scoring points will be the goal.

For his part, Vitaly Petrov was making the first qualifying session of his career. The Russian was up to the task by entering Q2 and ranked 17th with a bit of traffic. He hopes to do better tomorrow for the race.

Robert Kubica – 8th and 9th:

« Our primary goal today was to get into Q3, so we can be satisfied with having achieved that. However, I’m a bit disappointed to only be ninth. My laps were very good in Q1 and Q2, but unfortunately, the car oversteered in turn 16 in Q3, which cost me four-tenths. The positive side of the day is that we have a fairly clear idea of our position in the hierarchy, and it is positive. Looking at the cars around us, it’s certain that the R30 has good potential. Tomorrow, the race will be long and tough, but our mission will be to advance in the standings.

Vitaly Petrov – 18th and 17th:

« For the first F1 qualifying session of my career, this result is normal. I had a lot of fun today. Our goal was to reach Q2, which we did, then we weren’t lucky. Tomorrow is race day and it will be very interesting. We will try to do our best. »

Alan Permane – Chief Engineer:

Vitaly had a solid qualifying session for his first Grand Prix weekend. He easily passed Q1, which was a good thing. Unfortunately, he entered turn 9 a bit too quickly during his Q2 attempt. Therefore, he will start 17th tomorrow. Robert, on the other hand, was very competitive in Q1 and Q2 to make it into Q3, which was our goal. In Q3, he suffered from oversteer in turn 16, and it was costly. Overall, we are satisfied with the performance of the R30 today. Furthermore, we know that the car performs well with a full fuel load and that our top speed is good. Therefore, we expect to have a solid race tomorrow.

According to a statement from the Renault F1 Team