Montagny sets the pace
The Renault F1 Team began its final winter test session of 2005 today at Jerez, with Franck Montagny and Heikki Kovalainen in action for the world champions. Franck Montagny was the fastest today in Spain.
Running was delayed during the morning by cold circuit temperatures, which prevented useful running until the track had warmed up sufficiently. In spite of this, both drivers were able to make good progress on their respective programmes, with Franck Montagny working on tyre development for 2006 while Heikki Kovalainen worked on suspension evolutions.
Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer “Our work was delayed while the circuit came up to temperature this morning, but after that everything ran like clockwork. Obviously, the cooler temperatures at this time of year make it imperative to use track time effectively as possible, and we did a good job of that today, completing a total of 202 laps.”
1. F. Montagny - Renault V10 - 1'18"804 2. N. Karthikeyan - Williams Cosworth V8 - 1'19"171 3. F. Massa - Ferrari V10 - 1'19"264 4. R. Zonta - Toyota V8 - 1'19"521 5. H. Kovalainen - Renault V10 - 1'19"626 6. M. Webber - Williams Cosworth V8 - 1'20"105 7. A. Davidson - Honda V8 - 1'20"133 8. J.P. Montoya - McLaren Mercedes V8 - 1'20"216 9. N. Heidfeld - BMW Sauber V8 - 1'20"325 10. P. de la Rosa - McLaren Mercedes V8 - 1'20"885 11. A. Carroll - Honda - 1'21"555 12. F. Perera - Toyota V8 - 1'21"556 13. O. Panis - Toyota V8 - 1'21"678
