Renault
Kevin Magnussen
"We had three sets of tyres that we used for Q1 knowing that if we got through to Q2 we wouldn't be able to fight for much higher: our maximum today was P16 and Q2. On my first set of tyres I went wide and over the track limits, which meant that I had my lap time deleted. On my third and final run I know that I didn't run wide. Then, for Q2, I didn't have any new tyres so we went out and tried our maximum for the run in that second session. We extracted the most out of the car today in terms of set-up and using the tyres. To make it into Q2 is probably more than we'd expected so I'm more than happy that the team is fighting as it does."
Jolyon Palmer
"It was a very difficult session. I had been feeling good in the car all weekend but the last set of tyres didn't switch on for some reason. Until then I was feeling OK but I had really bad grip for the last run, couldn't improve and then missed out. I'm disappointed as I think there is more in there to improve. For the race it's the same plan as usual - you never know what will happen. We showed in the last Grand Prix that you can make up positions and in Russia we came through as well, but it's not going to be easy. The weather looks varied, which can be a help. We will keep our heads down and get on with it."
Bob Bell, Chief Technical Officer
"We're not under any illusions that that is where we are right now. However the positions don't necessarily reflect the good progress we have made this weekend. We have improved the car on track and done some very useful work as well.
"Kevin got through to Q2 but we didn't have enough sets of tyres to go out and have a real crack at a time. We went out just to set time in case someone in front gets penalised or had a problem.
"We will look through the data from Jolyon tonight, study what happened and work out why he didn't have the grip on the last set.
"We need to wait until the final qualifying classifications come out, as there may be some repositioning on the grid due to penalties for going over the track limits or other incidents. These may push us up a place or so. Even without moving up, I think we can have a good Grand Prix as our race pace has far been better than our qualifying. Provided we can hold position on the opening lap I think we can have a reasonable Grand Prix."
