Poor conditions move Renault to extend test

By Renault F1
January 30 2007

The ING Renault F1 Team was back in action this week in Valencia to continue its development programme with the new R27. The team is once again running with two chassis in order to make the fastest possible development progress with the new car.

However, poor weather conditions unfortunately severely limited the day’s programme and the team has consequently decided to extend the test session, initially planned for three days, to include Friday as well.

Giancarlo Fisichella and Nelson Piquet Jr. were in action for the team today, and completed very few laps as they waited for the slippery track conditions to improve. Following an installation lap first thing this morning, they waited until late in the afternoon before beginning proper running. Although the day was not as productive as the team had hoped, they are confident of making good progress with the technical programme during the rest of the week.

The French team’s objective for the test remain the same as in previous weeks: gaining maximum mileage with the new package, and continuing to explore set-up options with the new car.

Giancarlo Fisichella
“It was pretty frustrating today, waiting for the track conditions to improve. We basically lost a day’s work but that can happen at this time of year. We still have three days left though, and I am sure we can make some good progress during the rest of the week.”

Nelson Piquet Jr
“In the end, it wasn’t such a busy day for us. We only began the programme towards the end of the day when the weather improved. Everything went OK from my point of view, and it feels like the real work has begun now: these are important tests for the team, and there is still a lot to do before the opening races.”

Driver - Team car - Time - Laps

1. F. Alonso - McLaren MP4/22 - 1'12"538 (+0"000) - 96
2. K. Raikkonen - Ferrari F2007 - 1'13"533 (+0"995) - 48 
3. N. Piquet - Renault R27 - 1'13"550 (+1"012) - 31 
4. F. Montagny - Toyota TF107 - 1'13"672 (+1"134) - 38 
5. J. Trulli - Toyota TF107 - 1'13"752 (+1"214) - 54
6. N. Heidfeld - BMW Sauber F1.07 - 1'13"863 (+1"325) - 56 
7. R. G. Fisichella - Renault R27 - 1'13"871 (+1"333) - 37 
8. Barrichello - Honda RA107 -1'14"018 (+1"480) - 35
9. S. Vettel - BMW Sauber F1.07 - 1'14"047 (+1"509) - 81 
10. K. Nakajima - Williams Toyota FW28B - 1'14"527 (+1"989) - 79 
11. J. Rossiter - Honda RA106 - 1'14"638 (+2"100) - 43
12. T. Sato - Super Aguri SAF1 - 1'15"684 (+3"146) - 31 
13. M. Webber - Red Bull RB3 -1'15"729 (+3"191) - 32 
14. L. Badoer - Ferrari 248F1 - 1'20"030 (+7"492) - 47