Reactions – Finally a productive day for Renault

After two relatively calm days due to difficult weather, Renault was able to complete its last day of work this week in more suitable track conditions today.

The weather had been disappointing the last two days with heavy showers and a consequently wet Circuit de Catalunya. But today, the situation was somewhat different, and it was on a dry track and under the sun that the ING Renault F1 Team was able to successfully complete its third and final day of running this week, with Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet still on track on the Catalan circuit, driving their R28 chassis.

The two drivers were pleased to resume their development program today. Fernando primarily worked on the setup of his car and completed a total of 61 laps on this final day of preparation. Nelson, on his part, evaluated different setup solutions this morning and then switched to a new race distance simulation in the middle of the day, covering 105 laps.

After a lukewarm week due to weather conditions that disrupted the team’s schedule, Renault is now focusing all its attention on next week’s tests, still in Barcelona, which will be the last before the official start of the 2008 World Championship in Melbourne.

Fernando Alonso stated: « We have waited a lot this week to be able to drive in the dry and we tried to make the most of it. The track conditions were probably not perfect today but they still allowed us to carry out the tests we had planned and they remained stable throughout the day. We worked on various small things and I am satisfied with the performance and behavior of the car today. I am now preparing to tackle our last preparation session next week. »

Nelson Piquet added: « The weather finally improved significantly, and we were able to complete a real workday. Track conditions were reasonable, and we were able to gather interesting data and complete a new race distance, notably with several refueling simulations. Everything went well, and the car proved to be very consistent. »

To conclude, Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer said: « It was our only day on a dry track and we tried to make the most of it in order to learn as much as possible. We were reasonably satisfied with the car’s balance despite minor reliability issues today. With Nelson, our priority was to allow him to cover as many kilometers as possible, while with Fernando, we continued our development program. After a somewhat frustrating week due to the weather, we now hope for a more interesting week ahead. »

According to the Renault F1 Team