Is Renault the third fastest team?

Last Saturday wasn't the first time this year that Fernando Alonso didn't make the last stage of qualifying. It was though the first time that he failed to do so because the car wasn't quick enough. After the session he told journalists that Ferrari is now only the fifth fastest team, behind Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes and Renault. I am not sure he is enjoying the irony of the situation.

Robert Kubica qualified behind both Mercedes cars, although less than two tenths off Michael Schumacher, with Nico Rosberg splitting the two. Vitaly Petrov also made it into Q3, four tenths of a second behind his teammate. During the race though, the Renaults showed superior pace and Kubica was frustrated to be stuck behind Nico Rosberg whose quick pit stop (fastest of the race) helped him stay ahead.

Vitaly Petrov posted the fastest lap of the race on the last lap and, although it was because he had very little fuel and new tyres on (a result of his tangle with Alonso) it was only 30 hundredths off Mark Webber's fastest lap. Webber posted his 3 laps earlier and since a lap of fuel is worth about 0.1 sec a lap, Renault can't be much more than 3 tenths off Red Bull's pace.

The team has still work to do to improve their qualifying pace if they want to catch the top teams but with their F-duct and a new front wing coming soon, we might see Robert Kubica regularly challenging for podiums.