Day 1 for Renault
The Renault F1 Team began running today in Jerez, continuing the winter test programme with the R26. The team took the track for the first of three days of testing, with Fernando Alonso and Heikki Kovalainen at the wheel.
The Bahraini GP is fast approaching over the horizon – and the priority is still to put miles on the new package, and identify and solve potential problems, on the Renault F1 Team’s R26 package, which will be charged with defending the double world title. Testing has adopted its traditional weekly winter rhythm, with a four-day session programmed this week in Jerez.
On track today were Fernando Alonso and Heikki Kovalainen, who benefited from generally good track conditions to run lengthy programmes – although conditions had changed somewhat relative to the last time they ran at the circuit, owing to a motorbike race last weekend.
Fernando Alonso ran an extensive tyre testing programme with Michelin, and also worked on chassis set-up to improve the team’s understanding of the performance potential and reactions of the R26.
As for Heikki Kovalainen, he successfully completed a 77 lap race distance during the morning, but was forced to stop running in the afternoon after the team diagnosed a problem with the rear wing.
With driver safety remaining paramount in such situations, the team sent the part in question back to Enstone immediately in order to proceed with analysis and modifications. The team is working flat out to get revised components out to the circuit by Friday, but quality must of course remain paramount; if this is not possible, they will be used in Valencia next week.
This unexpected incident slightly disrupted the team’s programme, but they will nevertheless aim to extract maximum benefit from the next days’ work. Consequently, Heikki Kovalainen and Giancarlo Fisichella will continue working tomorrow, sharing a single chassis. Fernando Alonso has concluded running for the week, and will enjoy a week’s rest having completed every test session since the car’s first run one month ago.
Fernando Alonso "We had an interesting day of testing. We concentrated on the tyres again, which are going to be a very important factor this year, and worked on chassis set-up. The gains we made were good in terms of improving the grip and balance of the car. Now, we need to carry on working and see how things go – it is hard to say more than that at this stage, but the main thing is that we concentrate on our programme."
Heikki Kovalainen "I managed to do another race distance today, which was good. The car handled well and I felt comfortable at the wheel again. We then had the problem with the wing that meant I had to stop running, but the main thing is that we will still be able to carry on running tomorrow."
Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer "We managed to get through a large part of our testing programme today. Heikki completed another race distance, while Fernando worked on software this morning as he waited for track conditions to improve. He then focused on tyre development and chassis set-up, and we found some interesting ideas to explore further. Overall, it was a positive day in spite of the problem with the rear wing this afternoon."
