Renault confident to fight at the front

By role
April 24 2004

The Renault F1 team is confident that they can fight tomorrow at the front of the race taking under consideration their strategy and their grid position. The final qualifying session had a surprise as Jenson Button was able to get the pole ahead of the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher.

Button was the only driver to go below the 1.20 minutes mark with a best time of 1.19.753 good enough for the first pole of his career.

Michael Schumacher seemed ready to challenge for the position before making a small mistake at Variente Alta and finishing second with a best time of 1.20.011. The second row was filled with the BMW Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya and the Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello.

Ralf Schumcher and Fernando Alonso completed the third row, followed by Takuma Sato and Mark Webber. Alonso's time was of 1.20.895 an he believes he can challenge for the front tomorrow at the race:

"Sixth is a good position for us as I think the car is quick in race conditions, and that we can be very consistent on the long runs. On the timed lap, the handling was still a bit nervous but I think that is the same for the other drivers: grip levels have been low this weekend, and that has made our job a bit more difficult. Overall, I am confident and think we will perhaps be able to fight at the front tomorrow." Said the driver.

On 9th Jarno Trulli who set a best time of 1.21.034. The Italian was also confident of getting some points tomorrow at the race:

"A pretty good qualifying session for me: I made some little mistakes in the first and third sectors, but that only cost me a tenth or maybe two. We are hoping for a trouble-free race tomorrow and then we are capable of scoring good points. Clearly, it will be a very close battle, but we worked well today, and I am optimistic for the race." Said the Italian.

Pat Symonds was also happy for the performance and he was hinting that Button's time may be due to a low fuel load:

"A good straightforward qualifying session. The car balance was, as expected, reasonable rather than perfect, but both drivers put in good laps. The tyres are performing very well and providing the weather conditions remain reasonable, we can look forward to a competitive performance. As always after qualifying, speculation now turns to when the teams will make their first pit-stops: we certainly have not compromised our race strategy in favour of qualifying performance." He said.