Formula One news

Renault expects tough qualifying in Spain

Renault engineering director Pat Symons is expecting qualifying for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix to be a very close run thing and says it will be a real challenge to make it into the pole position shoot-out.

"Like our rivals, we have completed a lot of miles on this circuit, and we know that it is a tough test of an F1 car," Symonds said. "Although the nature of the track has changed slightly with the new chicane at turns 12/13/14, we can still expect very close competition. Last year, P5 to P9 in qualifying were separated by just 0.13s, and if anything, the times in the midfield group are even closer this year than last. That means getting into third qualifying will remain a tough challenge, just as it has been at every race so far. But we will do our best to rise to it."

"It is important to keep pushing our development programmes in addition to our problem-solving, and that is exactly what we are doing," he added. "We have aerodynamic and mechanical updates to the car in Barcelona, and of course, we have been working hard to ensure we maintain our record of reliable race finishes."

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