Renault enjoys productive test week

The ING Renault F1 Team concluded its four-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya today as heavy rain showers hit the Spanish circuit. As a result the team’s programme was disrupted and the R28 remained in the garage for the most of the day.

Nelson Piquet had taken over from Fernando Alonso for the final day and planned to run slick Bridgestone tyres this morning. But with the poor weather conditions the team was forced to revise its plans and it was not until late in the afternoon that a dry line appeared. However, the team made the most of the limited running to give Nelson some further experience on wet weather tyres.

Despite the loss of valuable track time today, the team has enjoyed a productive week in Barcelona and achieved most of the objectives for the test. Attention now turns to the Spanish Grand Prix next week, where the team will look to build on the success of this week’s efforts.

Nelson Piquet: “It was a shame that it was so wet today as we could only do limited running. The rain stopped after lunch and the track was beginning to dry, but then there was another shower in the middle of the afternoon which made it difficult to do much else. But for the final hour or so the track was not in bad shape and we completed a good amount of laps. Overall the test has been a good one and we have done a lot of work to be in good shape for the Spanish Grand Prix next week.”

Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer: “The rain was really heavy this morning and so we lost a lot of track time. But after lunch the rain held off for a bit and we were able to send Nelson out to get some more miles on the car. Although we were not able to learn much today, we have enjoyed a productive week overall, and the whole team has worked hard to make sure we are well prepared for the race here next week.”

Nelson Piquet R28-04, 61 laps, 284 km, fastest lap 1:26.100