Fernando Alonso was downbeat after struggling in Turkish Grand Prix qualifying. The Spaniard will start 8th of the grid, but spoke of the great struggle that he had in qualifying due to the lack of pace from his Renault.
Nelson Piquet was also let down by his car, as a brake problem hindered his chances of making it through to Q2.
ernando Alonso – 8th: “I have mixed feelings from this qualifying session. Q2 was really difficult and we only just made it through to Q3 in tenth position, but our level of performance and lack of pace meant we could only manage eighth on the grid, which is a bit disappointing. Unfortunately I will start from the dirty side of the track, which will make the start of the race difficult, but I still hope that I can challenge for some good points in the race.”
Nelson Piquet – 17th: “I knew I had a brake problem from the beginning of qualifying and so I was being cautious, but it wasn’t easy as the track was so slippery. On the last run the problem got worse and I spun off. However, I will remain positive for tomorrow as this is a track with good overtaking opportunities and hopefully we can have a strong race.”
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: “Nelson dropped out of qualifying after loosing a brake duct which overheated his brakes and caused him to spin. We had hoped for a slightly higher position for Fernando after second qualifying but bearing in mind our fuel load we are not in a bad position for the race.”
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