Alonso happy with developments on the R28

The ING Renault F1 Team completed a third day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona today. The team made the most of dry and sunny conditions to continue evaluating the upgrades to the R28 in preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix next week.

Fernando Alonso remained in the car for his second day of running this week and completed a busy programme of set-up work before taking the opportunity to sample slick tyres just before lunch. The Spaniard immediately set the fastest time which remained unbeaten until the conclusion of the session.

Nelson Piquet returns to the cockpit tomorrow for the final day of testing. He will look to build on the work he did with the team earlier in the week, although rain showers are expected to disrupt the final day of testing.

Fernando Alonso: “The day has been good and I was happy with the developments to the car. But we still need to keep improving because it seems that our competitors have also improved and so it is still difficult to say how we really compare with them. We have to wait until next week to get a full picture of where we stand. It was fun to try the slick tyres, which gave very good grip.”

Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer: “We did some set-up work in the morning as part of our preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix and took a look at the slick tyres just before lunch. Overall we are happy with the way the test is developing, although the weather forecast for tomorrow is not very good, but we have had three good days and completed most of what we wanted to achieve.”

Fernando Alonso R28-04, 100 laps, 466 km, fastest lap 1:18.483