Mechanical problems for Grosjean
The Renault Formula One Team completed a busy day of practice at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in preparation for this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix and this after a very difficult week for the French squad.
Fernando Alonso, R2904
Free practice 1: 16 laps, 1:50.567, P4
1 installation lap
Run 1: 8 laps, new hard tyres
Run 2: 7 laps, same hard tyres, adjustment to front wing
Free Practice 2: 27 laps, 1:48.924, P2
Run 1: 7 laps, new hard tyres
Run 2: 10 laps, same hard tyres, change to rear ride-height
Run 3: 1 lap, new soft tyres
Run 4: 3 laps, scrubbed hard tyres, front camber adjustment
Run 5: 5 laps, new soft tyres, change to front anti-roll bar
Fernando: “Today we completed a normal Friday programme for a street circuit. The track was very dirty and slippery in both the sessions, which always makes it difficult to learn about the car and improve the balance and I had a lot of oversteer. However, I think we made the most of the track time available and we are in reasonable shape for tomorrow.”
Romain Grosjean, R2903
Free practice 1: 9 laps, 1:53.548, P20
1 Installation lap
Run 1: 7 laps, new hard tyres
Free Practice 2: 17 laps, 1:50.972, P19
Run 1: 4 laps, new hard tyres
Run 2: 6 laps, same hard tyres
Run 3: 6 laps, new soft tyres
Romain: “Today was my first experience of the Singapore circuit. Unfortunately I made a small error in the first session which cost me a lot of time. Then in the afternoon we had several mechanical problems, which limited my running. Despite all this, I tried to learn the circuit, which is particularly difficult. We still have a lot of work to do but it will be possible to find some more speed for tomorrow. I also hope that the practice starts we did today will help us for the race.”
Bob Bell, Team Principal “Today didn’t quite go as planned. Romain had an accident in the first session which ruined a good part of that session. When he came out in the second session he had other issues with the car meaning that he didn’t get as much running as he would have liked. Today was all about giving him time on the circuit so this was unfortunate. For Fernando, his day was difficult as he had a lot of oversteer and lacked rear-end grip. So overall it wasn’t an easy day but we’ll work overnight to get on top of the balance issues and ensure we have a better balance tomorrow.”
