Renault a very strong first test for the R26
The World Champion Renault F1 Team enjoyed an encouraging
debut with its new R26 last week in Jerez. Technical Director
Bob Bell tells us more…
Bob, were you pleased with the debut for the R26 in
Jerez?
Very much so. Both drivers were very happy with the car, and
complimentary about its capabilities during the initial running.
The team also ran reliably - there were 27 red flags
owing to on-track stoppages, and none were caused by the team.
Was that a priority?
Absolutely. Last week was primarily a reliability test, to
check that all the parts on the car were functioning correctly.
It was a great feeling of satisfaction to complete over 1000
km without any serious incidents.
How pleasing was it to see the V8 engine run on track
for the first time, and to run without problems out of the
box?
I think it is a measure of how well the team has worked on
the project, and of the close integration between the engine
and chassis teams, that a brand new engine ran so well on
its debut. We focused closely on the detailed design, did
our homework on the dyno, and worked hard to ensure the engine
had no problems when it hit the track.
Did you begin looking at the car’s performance
capabilities last week?
That was not our priority. The drivers were both cautious
because the number of spare parts for the car is currently
limited, so we couldn’t afford any ‘offs’.
Even so, the initial signs seemed very positive in terms of
the car’s performance.
The team is not testing this week – why?
We planned this down-time in order to deal with the many small
problems that arise in the first week of running. It gives
us time to put proper solutions in place, that will hopefully
ensure the rest of our winter testing is as effective as possible.
When will you begin running again?
Testing begins again in Barcelona next week, on 25 January.
We will have two R26 chassis ready by then, and both race
drivers in action. It will give us six consecutive weeks of
testing, to make intensive preparations for the first race
in Bahrain. We are all looking forward to getting stuck in
to the programme.
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