1st day test at Valencia

By Renault F1
February 28 2006

The World Champion Renault F1 Team began today a two-day test programme at Valencia. This is the final session before leaving for Bahrain and the start of the 2006 season. Heikki Kovalainen, the team’s third driver, was in action with a single R26 chassis.

The objective for the day was to cover a race distance and continue tyre development. However, the team suffered mechanical problems with the car at lunchtime, which cost valuable track time. Heikki was able to run several more laps at the end of the day to check the systems were working correctly, in preparation for tomorrow’s work – which the team hopes will be a more productive day.

Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer: “It was a tough day for us because of the mechanical problems: we fixed them, but our programme was disrupted because of it. However, the main thing for us is to be ready for Bahrain, and finding and solving these problems is very important for our preparation. Heikki had a very good day, and didn’t make any mistakes in spite of difficult circuit conditions. We didn’t do many laps, which makes it difficult for the driver to find his rhythm. But this means tomorrow will definitely be a very busy day!”


DRIVER TEAM BEST LAPS

1 ROSBERG Williams 1:11.026 86

2 DE LA ROSA McLaren 1:11.234 147

3 WEBBER Williams 1:11.367 68

4 KOVALAINEN Renault 1:11.449 55

5 PAFFET McLaren 1:13.052 72