Productive test for Renault

ING Renault F1 Team today concluded its three-day testing programme at Silverstone, as it completed preparations for the forthcoming British Grand Prix, which will be held at this circuit in under three weeks.

After two days of work from Heikki Kovalainen, the team continued its programme with test driver Nelson Piquet Jr. at the wheel today. Moving forward from the data collected by Heikki, the young Brazilian firstly worked on set-up to find a comfortable balance, before beginning the development programme. He conducted a series of tyre tests to assess their performance and general consistency.

Nelson had a busy day, completing more than 100 laps, and the level of performance of the R27 was encouraging. At the end of the day, he finished fourth-fastest with a best lap of 1:21.357, having completed 548 km on his return to the cockpit.

Nelson Piquet Jr: “I was really pleased to be driving today, because I really enjoy this circuit and I have always felt good here. I hadn’t driven since the last test in Paul Ricard, and was excited about this week, and the car was handling well – better than I expected to be honest. We made good progress with our programme, and collected interesting data which confirms Heikki’s work earlier in the week. That’s a positive sign.”

Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer: “We rounded the week off with a very good day’s work. Nelson settled in quickly, and felt comfortable straight away, which helped us make good progress. We had no problems with the car, which is always satisfying, and continued working with the data Heikki had collected on the previous days. In overall terms, this has been a productive and useful test. We can see that we are making progress step by step, but the other teams are doing the same, and we know that this isn’t the time to take our foot off the pedal!”

Nelson Piquet Jr., R27-06, 108 laps, 548 km, best lap: 1:21.357