Renault driver Bruno Senna said that his mechanics did a "fantastic job" to make sure that he got out onto track for the qualifying session, after the Brazilian heavily damaged his car in a crash in the final practice session.
The Brazilian heavily damaged the front of his Renault car when he lost control and crashed into the barriers at the exit of the Spoon curve during the Saturday morning session.But although the team were still repairing his R31 at the start of qualifying, he was able to make it out onto track.
Senna eventually made it through to Q3, and will start from 9th on the grid after opting not to set a time in the final session to save tyres for the race.
And after the session, he thanked his mechanics for their work in getting his car repaired for the qualifying session itself.
"It was a bit of a squeeze getting my car together in time for qualifying but the team did a fantastic job to mend it after my mishap in practice this morning," the Brazilian grinned.
"I haven't been able to get as much track time as I would have liked yet this weekend, however the car performed flawlessly throughout qualifying, and the strategy we deployed helped put us in a strong position for the race tomorrow."
He added that he was now hopeful of a strong race, saying: "I am really looking forward to lining up on the grid, as it should be an exciting race.
"I love this track and I am very well supported here so I hope to be able to give the supporters in the stands something to shout about."
His team mate Vitaly Petrov will line up alongside him in 10th place, after also opting not to set a time in Q3 and the Russian said that the team's strong qualifying run showed that they were over their dismal form last time out in Singapore.
"I'm pleased with lining up ninth on the grid. We are looking much stronger here than in Singapore, and we're demonstrating the potential of the R31 at high speed corner tracks once again," the Russian driver grinned.
"The car has felt progressively better each time I've taken to the wheel this weekend. It felt good in FP1 and FP2, and then FP3 this morning confirmed my sense that there will be a good opportunity for us to perform well here."
As for the race, he added: "I'm feeling confident going into tomorrow. A lot of different strategies will be played out during the race but I'm glad we are back in the hunt again."
Renault are currently involved in a fight with Force India for fifth in the constructors championship, though both drivers outqualified their Findia rivals.
The two VJM04s will line up directly behind them in 11th and 12th places on the grid for Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta.
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