Valencia report - Alonso on top

Many teams were in action today in Jerez and will also be tomorrow. The weather improved from the morning on and allowed more useful testing than on tuesday. While Fernando Alonso suffered an electrical problem, he still set the fastest time. At WilliamsF1 both cars suffered problems and stopped the session during the afternoon.

The Renault F1 Team’s opening day of testing in Valencia proved positive today, in spite of completing little running in the morning owing to an electrical problem on Fernando Alonso’s car. The problem proved minor, which was quickly identified by the team and after which Fernando completed a tyre development programme with Michelin during the afternoon.

On the other side of the garage, Heikki Kovalainen was given his first taste of the new R26/RS26 package. The Finn settled in quickly and adapted quickly to the new machine.

Fernando Alonso: “We had a good day today, in spite of the electrical problem this morning. It was not really serious, and in one sense, it allowed us to wait for the track conditions to improve because the circuit was damp this morning. We spent the afternoon working on tyre development with Michelin, and we were pleased with how the car performed on the tyres.”

Heikki Kovalainen: “I could feel a really good level of potential in the chassis and engine. The R26 is a an evolution of last year’s car, which was already a good chassis. I would say that the R26 is probably more comfortable and more stable, as well as being just as nice to drive. From my point of view, every day I feel better integrated in the team, and I am ready to work hard on a busy testing programme between now and Bahrain.”

Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer: “This is a demanding circuit for the drivers, and so it’s good to see Heikki adapted quickly to the new package. Fernando ran a thorough tyre test that allowed us to work on the chassis set-up, and we looked very competitive on the timesheets, which is always nice. The drivers feel good in the car, and tomorrow we hope to complete more miles, if track conditions allow. The aim will be to complete a race distance with the two cars.”

Jenson Button joined the test taking over chassis RA106-02 from Anthony Davidson. He completed an aero evaluation on intermediate tyres in the morning session whilst Rubens Barrichello ran through a series of set-up runs in chassis RA106-02. Jenson completed 39 laps in the morning session, with Rubens covering 27 laps.

With the circuit having dried out by lunchtime, both Rubens and Jenson continued their testing programme with a tyre evaluation. Rubens managed 117 laps in total today with Jenson completing 86 laps and setting the second fastest time of the day – a 01:11.327.

Jenson will continue his running tomorrow with Anthony taking over in chassis RA106-01.

Sam Michael, Technical Director, WilliamsF1: “This morning's running was wet and although Mark managed to put more mileage on the FW28 we had to stop mid afternoon with a known gearbox problem. Alex was undertaking some tyre testing for Bridgestone in the FW27C and also stopped mid afternoon with a fuel pump failure. Tomorrow, Nico will drive the FW28 and Alex will continue his programme in the FW27C."

Juan Pablo Montoya arrived in Valencia this morning to take over driving duties of the MP4-21 from Kimi Raikkonen, who was unable to test today due to a bad cold. In the MP4-21 Juan Pablo completed over 270km of the Spanish track on his third day of running in the team's 2006 car, since its shakedown on Monday, 23rd January. The Colombian set the third fastest time of the day, with a 1m11.978.

Juan Pablo's work focused on achieving long runs with the MP4-21, because of the number of team's on track this was subject to two red flag interruptions caused by other drivers, however he was able to complete two stints of 17 laps. In addition he worked through some set-up programmes. Test driver Gary Paffett continued in the interim MP4-20 working on Michelin tyre development. Gary covered 450km over 115 laps, ending the day in eleventh position on the timesheets, with a 1m12.937

Juan Pablo will be joined in Valencia tomorrow by Pedro de la Rosa who will take over testing the MP4-20 from Gary Paffett.