Assessment – Friday – Hot, hot in front for Renault!

It was under particularly favorable track conditions that Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet were able to complete their entire program without encountering any problems. After four days of intensive testing last week on this same Montmelo circuit, the team focused today on fine-tuning their cars and evaluating the tires available for this new race weekend.

The outcome of this first day is encouraging, and the team now hopes to continue its progress ahead of tomorrow’s qualifications.

Fernando Alonso – 3rd and 6th

« We took advantage of this first day of testing to finish our testing program started last week. We therefore tried different configurations and attempted to gather as much information as possible. The track conditions today were very different from what we experienced last week, with more wind and especially much less grip, so we had to adapt. I am satisfied with my day and the results we recorded. However, we will need to make further progress by tomorrow to ensure a strong qualification as it will be crucial for our race on Sunday. »

Nelson Piquet – 2nd and 7th

« I am satisfied with my workday. The car responded well, we considered different options in terms of settings, and we also made progress in evaluating the tires. I did many laps and made good progress in my program. So tonight, we have a lot of data to analyze with my engineers to try to make further progress and approach qualifying as sharp as possible.

Pat Symonds – Executive Director of Engineering

« Despite the fickle weather during our last tests here in Barcelona, we managed to make good progress in our development program, which allowed us to conduct slightly different tests today. While it is always nice to see our cars at the top of the timing sheets, we must keep in mind that this is only Friday testing and they are not always very representative. However, it is clear that we have made progress with our car. »

Denis Chevrier – Head of Trackside Engine Teams

« Difficult at the end of these first tests to know with certainty where we stand in the pack. We have progressed, that is certain, but the gaps are still minimal today and we cannot know exactly to what extent the other teams have tried to push today and what their real potential is. What is important to highlight is that we were able to complete our program without difficulty today, on each of our two cars, and that our two drivers have constantly adapted to the track conditions, which have been very changeable. We completed many laps, thus recorded a lot of information, which is encouraging at this stage of the weekend.

According to the Renault F1 Team