Nelson Piquet Jr. to make testing debut with Renault F1
Team
Nelson Piquet Jr. will make his testing debut for the Renault
F1 Team next week in Silverstone.
After being announced as a 2007 Renault F1 Team test driver
prior to last week's Italian Grand Prix, Nelsinho Piquet (as
he is known in Brazil to distinguish him from his three-time
world champion father) will get his first taste of the Renault
F1 R26 next week at Silverstone during the final test of the
2006 season. Nelsinho will be driving alongside 2007 Renault
F1 Team race driver Heikki Kovalainen.
2006 GP2 Series runner-up Piquet will participate in all
three days of the Silverstone test, acclimatising himself
to the Renault car, to the team and to its working methods.
Although weather forecasts currently remain unpredictable
for next week, should conditions allow he will also begin
working on the team's technical development programmes.
Prior to driving the car for the first time, Nelsinho today
made his first visit to the team's Enstone base to conduct
a seat fitting, learn about the car, and meet the team.
Commenting on the prospect of his first test with the F1
world champions, Nelsinho said: "I am really looking
forward to my first test next week with Renault. I like Silverstone
very much and I have driven there a lot so it's good that
I don't have to worry about learning the track, I can just
focus on the car. I am happy that I am getting three full
days of testing because it will be more car time than any
other F1 car I've driven, and I am looking forward to driving
a front-running car like the R26 for the first time. It will
be a great chance to learn as much as I can and get to know
everybody at the team."
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