Friday Report – Difficult Start for Renault!

Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet focused on tuning their car and conducting an initial assessment of the tires available to them for the opening day of this first 2008 Grand Prix.

Fernando was able to execute his technical program without difficulty and saw the balance of his car improve over the 59 laps he managed to complete. However, the Spaniard wasn’t able to benefit from a clear track to assess the true potential of his new tires.

Went off track during the first session, Nelson saw his track time cut short and concluded this Friday with 35 laps completed. The team is now focusing all its attention on preparing for tomorrow’s qualifying sessions, which will be crucial for Sunday’s race.

Fernando Alonso – 6th and 13th

« This first day was very hot, with a lot of wind in particular, but the conditions were the same for everyone, and all the teams had to adapt. For this first day of work, we tried to focus on fine-tuning the car under these circumstances. We made good progress, but we still have room to improve, particularly in terms of the car’s stability when braking and its balance. We still need to gain in performance, but I am optimistic for the rest of the weekend. »

Nelson Piquet – 18th and 19th

« It’s probably not how I imagined my first day of work, we would have liked to, of course, shoot more. I was caught off guard in the first session and made a mistake that damaged my gearbox, forcing the team to work on my car during the lunch break. I was able to get my first bearings on the circuit, and I hope to use tomorrow’s day to keep improving. I know I have a lot to learn, but I try to make the most of every lap to progress, and that’s what I will continue to do throughout this first weekend. »

Pat Symonds – Executive Director of Engineering

« It’s a difficult start to the season. Nelson spun out in the first session, and our initial analysis showed that the gearbox might have been damaged, so we decided to change it, which greatly reduced his time on track. Naturally, he was also less comfortable in the second session. With Fernando, we covered a good number of laps today and thus made good progress in our program. We’ve made progress regarding the car’s balance, but as always, there’s still a lot to do. We believe we haven’t yet reached the potential of our car at this stage of the weekend because we’ve only used two sets of soft tires and got caught in traffic. At the end of this first day, we can say we’re in the middle of the pack. »

Denis Chevrier – Head of Trackside Engine Teams

« If we have noted some differences in the hierarchy of the two sessions today, it seems that the four favorites we anticipated this winter have confirmed their position. From our point of view, the day is somewhat disappointing because we planned our program to give Nelson optimal track time, which ultimately did not happen, which is unfortunate on a circuit known to be difficult to learn and master. We will try to make the most of the last session tomorrow morning to approach the qualifications in the best possible conditions. »

According to the Renault F1 Team