Valencia – Day 1 – Alonso Takes Charge

The two-time world champion Fernando Alonso and Williams test driver Nico Hülkenberg today unveiled the two new Renault and Williams single-seaters in Valencia.

On the Spanish circuit, the two teams were the only ones to run today, with the other teams set to join them tomorrow.

Under a thick fog this morning, the two drivers at work only began their tests at noon, when the Spaniard completed a few laps to check the proper functioning of the electronics. He covered a total of 39 laps and finished with a best time of 1:13.027.

Hülkenberg, for his part, drove the new Williams FW30. With only 20 laps under his belt, the young German is more than a second and a half behind the former McLaren driver.

On the Renault side, no incidents to report. Conversely, Williams saw their car damaged just a few laps in after Hülkenberg went off track. The floor had to be changed to get back on track a few hours later.

Sam Michael, the technical director of Williams, stated: « Today we mainly checked the systems present in the new FW30. The car is therefore ready for tomorrow when we can start the real tests with Nico [Rosberg]. »

Valencia Private Tests – Day 1