Encouraging test day for Alonso
The ING Renault F1 Team completed a third day of testing in Jerez today as Fernando Alonso took over driving duties from Nelson Piquet. Again the team enjoyed glorious weather conditions, allowing Fernando to complete a busy day in the cockpit as he clocked up 133 laps to add valuable mileage to the R29. The programme consisted of long runs and evaluating various development items. There was also continuation of work on the KERS system.
Fernando will be back in the car for his final day of work tomorrow as the team wraps up its testing session.
Fernando Alonso: “Today was all about getting mileage on the car, especially with the new KERS system. It was my first full dry day in the car and so I was able to learn a lot. We completed lots of laps, which is encouraging and now we will start working on the set-up of the car so that I can get more comfortable with it.”
Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer: “As the car is so new, the main priority of this test is to add miles to the car to get data and ensure we have a reliable package. The first two days of the test were quite difficult for us, but today was better and the car ran well throughout the day. For tomorrow we will keep pushing on the mileage and learning all we can about the package.”
Fernando Alonso, R29-01, 133 laps, 589 km, fastest lap 1:21.307
