Renault satisfied with its initial tests

The Renault F1 Team was back on track today at the Bahrain International Circuit, ahead of this weekend’s Grand Prix, the third event in the 2008 World Championship.

Despite the constant gusts of wind, the team managed to take advantage of the two work sessions of the day to fine-tune their car and evaluate the tires available for the weekend. As usual, the team chose to start their program with a heavy fuel load as part of their preparation for the Sunday race, which is known to be particularly demanding on the brakes. It’s an encouraging start to the weekend and ING Renault F1 Team intends to make the most of the information recorded today to approach the qualifying sessions in the best possible conditions.

Fernando Alonso – 10th and 13th

This has undoubtedly not been an easy day for us today. We haven’t been very fast and are suffering from a traction issue. Our program consisted of working on the car with a view to the race. We still need to generally improve our speed by tomorrow, and that is what we will focus on tonight after analyzing our data.

NelsonPiquet – 12th and 10th

We made good progress today between this morning’s tests and those this afternoon. I worked on the brakes, which we know suffer a lot here. In the second session, the car was already handling better and, as a result, I also felt more comfortable on the track. It’s clear that we still need to improve our pace, but I’m convinced it will be possible by tomorrow and that we will be able to defend our chances in qualifying.

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering

Despite significant wind, the track conditions weren’t particularly bad today, and we were able to tackle our program earlier than expected. We chose to run with a lot of fuel, on a circuit known to be tough on brakes, but the track didn’t have much grip, and we need to improve the car’s balance. We recorded a lot of information that will be analyzed tonight to help us improve the car’s handling by tomorrow.

Denis Chevrier, Head of On-Track Engine Teams

Our day went quite normally with our two cars. We are not among the favorites, so it was about working diligently and completing our program, which was possible today since no incident disrupted the course of these Friday tests. Tonight, we will once again need to try to make the most of what we learned today, especially regarding the tires and their use, the gear ratios, and the traction, which is crucial here. There is certainly room for improvement, although it needs to be balanced against what our competitors may also achieve.

According to a Renault F1 Team press release