Hot day's work for Grosjean

Just two days after scoring its first podium of the season in the German Grand Prix, the ING Renault F1 Team was back in action, beginning the first of four days testing in Jerez in the south of Spain.

Conditions were hot and dry as the team completed a busy day’s work with test driver Romain Grosjean behind the wheel of the R28. Having tested for the team for the first time last month in Barcelona, the young Frenchman was delighted to have another chance to work with the team.

With track conditions poor throughout the day due to the heat, the team focussed on getting Romain comfortable with the car and completed some R&D work in the afternoon. He covered 71 laps to complete a trouble-free first day of running.

Romain will hand the R28 over to Nelson Piquet tomorrow with the Brazilian driving for the next couple of days as the team continues with its development programme. Romain will remain in Jerez to observe the team before returning to the cockpit for the final day on Friday.

Romain Grosjean: “It was my first time here in Jerez and so I had to learn the track this morning and worked gradually with the team improving the car throughout the day. It still feels amazing to drive this car and I was glad to have the chance to work with the team again. It was quite difficult today because of the high temperatures, but I really enjoyed driving this circuit with the mix of high and low speed corners. I’m now looking forward to observing the team for the next couple of days to learn as much as I can.”

Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer: “A hot day’s work! It was the second day of running we have done with Romain and he did a good job on a circuit that was new to him. We concentrated on getting him comfortable with the car and he coped well with the difficult track conditions caused by the heat, which made the balance of the car quite tricky. Running in the heat may have been difficult, but some of the races coming up, such as Hungary, are traditionally very hot and some of the things we have learned today will be relevant for those races.”

Romain Grosjean, R28-04, 71 laps, 314 km, fastest lap 1:21.223