By role
June 15 2003

Both Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli had reasons to celebrate after the qualifying sesion. A very strong sesion saw both drivers reach the top 8 yesterday with Fernando qualifying 4th just 1/1000 of a second behind Michael Shcumacher on 3rd. Renault knew before coming to the Gilles Villeneuve circuit that this was going to be a tough weekend for them based on their lack of power in comparison to other runners.

However, they have been quite strong during the weekend being constantly on front both in wet and in dry conditions.

Fernando was indeed happy with the result:

"I am very happy, not just with qualifying but with our work throughout the day. We had a good morning, trying lots of different set-ups, and we were always competitive in the wet. In qualifying, it was definitely a small advantage to be running towards the end of the session. The car was good and I didn't make any mistakes: to be fourth on the grid is a good starting point for
tomorrow." Said the Spaniard.

Trulli had an accident on the warm-up so he had to use the T--car, which set up was quickly changed from Fernando's to his:

"First of all, I need to say a big thank you to my mechanics, who did a brilliant job today. I had to use the spare car, which was originally set up for Fernando, and the timed lap was my first in that car this weekend. Taking that into account, I think I can be pleased to be starting eighth tomorrow." Jarno said.

The engineers were also as happy with the results:

"Weather conditions this weekend have a played a large part in the event so far. Our Friday testing has paid off once again, and we find ourselves in a competitive position. Jarno's accident at the end of the warm-up forced him to use the T-car, but this did not compromise his position as he felt the car was good. Fernando's position is particularly encouraging and we hope that he will be able to make use of our launch control to further improve on this at the start of the race." Said Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering.