The R26 rounds off the week with top time

The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team completed its work this week with the R26 in Jerez, and was pleased with the results. Both Renault drivers had their chance to take the track with the new R26 at the circuit of Jerez and everybody is pleased with the first results of the R26.

The first laps of a brand new car can make even the most hard-bitten engineer nervous. Months of work can sometimes come back to the garage as little more than a smoking, fiery mess… On Tuesday morning, the R26 took to the track for the first time – and returned in mint condition. It continued to do so for the rest of the four-day test, as the Renault F1 Team began learning about the basics of the package that will defend its world championship titles.

Friday’s final day of running shared a common theme with the rest of the test – run as many laps as possible to collect information about the new R26-RS26 package. Fernando Alonso was once again in the car as the team looked to complete long runs during the afternoon. However, uncertain weather conditions saw rain showers disrupt running, while red flags also slowed proceedings – although none were caused by the team.

However, Fernando Alonso flew out from Jerez this evening with a smile on his face, pleased with the week’s work. “I think we had a good week. We wanted to do lots of miles, and we did it without any big mechanical problems.” But that was only the beginning and with just under two months to go until the opening race, Fernando is already focused on the next test. “I feel good in the car, and I am looking forward to getting back in, at Barcelona in ten days. We will work again on the reliability, and hopefully we can start to look at the performance too. We should have some new things to test already, so it will be very interesting.”

Giancarlo Fisichella concluded his week’s work with a second day aboard the R25. He worked on tyre development, collecting data that will be transposed directly onto the new car beginning in Barcelona.

The team’s next test will be in Barcelona, from 25 to 27 January. Two R26 chassis will run in that test, in order to allow reliability and performance development to advance as quickly as possible.