Qualifying - Mexico GP report: Renault F1

Kevin Magnussen has qualified in fourteenth position for the Formula 1 Gran Premio de México whilst Jolyon Palmer had to sit out the session at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Kevin proceeded to Q2 where he set a 1min 21.131secs lap using Pirelli’s super soft tyres. A crack discovered in Jolyon’s R.S.16 chassis after FP3 meant a chassis change on safety grounds, rendering Jolyon unable to participate in the session.

Kevin Magnussen

“I’m fairly pleased with qualifying. FP3 was tricky for us, the car handled very strangely and tyres weren’t working which I think was down to the cool temperatures. Qualifying felt better and I don’t think I could have done much more today. Even if I got a perfect lap I think P13 was likely out of reach here.”

Jolyon Palmer

“Unfortunately I had to sit out qualifying which was really frustrating as we looked pretty good in FP3 and I’ve been feeling happy with the car. I ran wide and straddled the kerb in the last corner during FP3. I felt a bump, but it didn’t feel like it was a big one, so I was surprised when we discovered the chassis was broken. Q2 was definitely on the cards today. We’re going to have to go all out to get points tomorrow.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director

How was qualifying for the team?

On one side of the garage Kevin did a great job to get into Q2 and set the fourteenth fastest time. On the other side of the garage, sadly Jolyon was unable to participate as his crew were busy changing the chassis, which is obviously frustrating as he should also have been in Q2, as demonstrated by his FP3 pace.

Why did Jolyon miss qualifying?

A crack was discovered on his chassis after FP3. This was likely caused when he ran over a kerb during that session. The crack was on the underside of the chassis near to the seatbelt mount so we had to change chassis for safety reasons, and this takes more time than there was available between the sessions.

What are the considerations for tomorrow’s race?

The weather was a step warmer today and should be a step warmer again tomorrow which helps the tyres deliver their performance. The medium compound shows next to no degradation so we have to look at the possibilities offered by the other two compounds. Kevin is well placed to work up the order. Jolyon will start from the back of the grid so we have to consider the different strategy permutations for him. Given his position we have the option to run an aggressive strategy with him if it looks like the way to go.