Renault advances… Yesterday was prolific

As part of its preparation for the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship, ING Renault F1 Team completed another day of testing in Valencia today, Fernando Alonso’s third day driving the new R28.

For this new session, the team benefited from nearly ideal track conditions and was able to complete its entire program without encountering any issues.

Fernando Alonso, driving the R28-01 chassis, was on track for the third consecutive day this week and mainly focused on setup tests to improve the overall balance of the car throughout the day.

This afternoon, the team took advantage of the track conditions to validate various setup options and complete several long runs. The Spaniard was also able to perform several start simulations and conduct several pit stop practices at the end of the session to regain his bearings.

The team can therefore still congratulate themselves today on having had a productive day and being able to cover their entire schedule within the allotted time. Fernando Alonso seemed pleased this evening to have been able to drive for three consecutive days to quickly adapt to the new R28, and expressed satisfaction before leaving the Ricardo Tormo circuit.

Nelson Piquet Jr takes to the track today and will drive the R28 for the first time.

Fernando Alonso – 6th: « The objective of this session was to discover the new car and try to understand how it operates. »

« My last day on track went very well and we were once again able to complete many laps without encountering any problems. It will be time during the next sessions to improve our package, but the initial assessment is encouraging. I feel good in the team and each day I am more comfortable in the car. I can’t wait to continue our testing. I was very touched by the support I received from the many fans present these last few days, it is always very motivating for me. »

Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer: « Our program was more interesting today for the engineers, we switched to setup testing to find a good balance with the car. Everything went well, the car responded well to the various changes we made, and it’s therefore a very encouraging initial assessment with always good reliability. We took advantage of this session to perform refueling simulations, which is normal at this stage of our preparation.

According to a press release from the Renault F1 Team