Chinese GP, Friday - 29 SEP 2006
The Renault F1 Team made a solid start to the Chinese Grand
Prix weekend in Shanghai, with Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo
Fisichella finishing sixth and tenth respectively in the second
practice session – and as the third and fifth fastest
race drivers.
Neither driver ran in the morning session as changing track
conditions were not suitable for accurate testing, while unsettled
weather conditions and light rain in the afternoon made it
hard to draw firm conclusions from the times. However, both
drivers were pleased with the consistent performance of the
Michelin tyres, and the R26 felt stable to drive – although
overnight tuning will further improve the balance. All in
all, the team has enjoyed a promising opening day of the Grand
Prix weekend.
Fernando Alonso, P6, 10 laps total, 1:36.739
We had to adjust our programme a little bit because of the
rain in the afternoon session, but we have a good baseline
to work from with the car. It felt comfortable to drive straight
away, so while we need to fine-tune things overnight, I am
quite happy at the moment. This is a track I always enjoy,
especially with the good memories from the championship win
last year, and even with the V8 engines and the other changes
since 2005, it still felt very good to drive today. I think
we need to be a bit cautious analysing the times, because
the conditions today are quite different to what we expect
for the race. So we will wait for tomorrow until we get a
final judgement for the tyre performance, but so far the Michelins
seem to be working well.
Giancarlo Fisichella, P10, 12 laps total, 1:37.718
This was a promising start for me today. We improved the car
a little bit during the session, in spite of the changing
conditions owing to the rain, and the performance felt good.
I didn't put together a full clean lap, so the lap-time could
have been better, but the car felt consistent straight away
and the tyres seemed good as well. It is hard to be certain
in the judgement so early in the weekend, but I have a good
feeling so far.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
The changing weather conditions meant that our Friday programme
was a little more challenging than normal. We chose not to
run in the first session as the track conditions were changing
a lot, which meant that it would have been difficult to get
reliable answers on the tyre performance. However, the deteriorating
weather in second practice made it hard to get much significant
work done. In spite of this, the runs we managed to complete
showed that, as usual, the initial balance is good –
but not quite where we would like it to be for the race. However,
our usual programme of overnight tuning should put us in a
strong position for tomorrow.
Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Operations
The changing track conditions this morning, and weather conditions
this afternoon, mean that there are a number of question marks
over the final times and how well they represent the relative
performance of the different competitors. However, we completed
our baseline work for the rest of the weekend, and both the
lap-times and top speeds seem competitive. Both RS26 engines
ran without any incident, and we now need to complete our
usual overnight work before seeing how today's times translate
in terms of absolute performance for the rest of the weekend.
|
