Renault back to testing
The Renault F1 Team began three days of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya today, with Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella in action for the French team, both at the wheel of the new R26 chassis, conducting reliability and tyre development.
The day got off to a slow start owing to very cold track temperatures during the early morning. This made running impossible as the tyres were not generating sufficient temperature. Both drivers were able to begin their programmes at around 11am, and then worked without major incident throughout the day. The focus for today's testing was primarily on continuing to put mileage on the new chassis and RS26 V8 engine. In addition to this base-line work, both drivers conducted tyre development for Michelin, completing medium distance (less than 10 laps) runs.
Fernando and Giancarlo finished the day second and fourth respectively on the timesheets. They completed 178 laps, a total of 824 km.
Fernando Alonso "I did 94 laps today, which is very good for a new car. The important thing for this early stage is that we had no mechanical problems, so I am quite happy with our results so far. I was still experimenting a bit today because this is the first time I have driven at Barcelona with the V8, so you need some time to get used to the different driving style. The car is easy to drive here as well, and my feeling so far is very good."
Giancarlo Fisichella "We had a good day, with lots of laps and no big problems. The main job today was working on tyres and we completed a big programme with Michelin. Overall, it was a good day for us."
Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer "This was a very good opening day of our test. The programme got off to a slow start, but once the circuit had warmed up properly, we were able to run a big programme. The main focus of the day was tyre development, and we got some excellent results for Michelin from our work on compounds and constructions. We will be hoping to continue in a similar fashion tomorrow."
1 . F. Massa - Ferrari F2004M V8 - 1:15.664 - 67 laps
2 . F. Alonso - Renault R26 - 1:16.200 - 94 laps
3 . J. Button - Honda RA106 - 1:16.578 - 72 laps
4 . G. Fisichella - Renault R26 - 1:16.728 - 84 laps
5 . R. Barrichello - Honda RA106 - 1:16.737 - 52 laps
6 . J. Trulli - Toyota TF106 - 1:17.068 - 61 laps
7 . N. Heidfeld - BMW Sauber F1.06 - 1:17.076 - 109 laps
8 . O. Panis - Toyota TF106 - 1:17.422 - 91 laps
9 . J. P. Montoya - McLaren Mercedes MP4-21 - 1:17.481 - 80 laps
10 . D. Coulthard - Red Bull Ferrari RB2 - 1:17.582 - 76 laps
11 . S. Speed - Scuderia Toro Rosso RB1 V10 - 1:18.092 - 86 laps
12 . G. Paffett - McLaren Mercedes MP4-20B V10 - 1:18.247 - 68 laps
13 . R. Kubica - BMW Sauber C24B - 1:20.016 - 61 laps.
