ING Renault F1 Team kicks off hot Jerez test - 24 JUL 2007
The ING Renault F1 Team began its final test before the August
break in sweltering conditions today in Jerez.
Nelsinho Piquet, R27-06, 68 laps, 298 km, best lap: 1:22.537
The ING Renault F1 Team began its final test before the August
break in sweltering conditions today in Jerez. The first of
the three days saw Nelsinho Piquet at the wheel of chassis
R27-06, conducting a limited programme on a circuit that was
inevitably lacking in grip on the first day of running.
The primary objective for the day was to accumulate mileage
on the low downforce package to be used at the race in Monza
in September. It was essential to complete this mileage to
approve the components prior to testing in Monza in late August,
but it meant Nelson was running in a configuration that was
far from ideal given that the Jerez circuit usually demands
high downforce. During the afternoon, he conducted a short,
basic set-up programme but as is usual during the hottest
part of the day, his lap-times where significantly slower
than in the cooler morning conditions.
Nelsinho Piquet: "The main goal for
today was to put the necessary mileage on the parts for Monza,
and we managed to do so. As usual on day one of the test,
the circuit conditions were quite poor, and the track was
rubbering-in all the way through the day, making it hard to
get a good feel for how the car was handling. I am driving
again on Thursday, by which time the conditions and car balance
should have improved a lot."
Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer: "We
planned quite a limited programme for our opening day of testing,
given that circuit conditions are usually poor and that we
have to count our mileage very carefully under this year's
testing mileage restrictions. Nelsinho completed the necessary
running to approve the Monza aero package, and then conducted
a short set-up programme. Heikki will be driving tomorrow,
when we will begin running with our latest aerodynamic developments
in order to optimise the set-up of the car for the next two
races."
DRIVER TEAM BEST LAPS
1 de la Rosa McLaren 1'20.111 71
2 Montagny Toyota 1'21.136 73
3 Nakajima Williams 1'21.424 104
4 Rossiter Super Aguri 1'21.682 92
5 Klien Honda 1'22.035 70
6 Piquet ING Renault F1 Team 1'22.537 68
7 Buemi Red Bull Racing 1'22.565 78
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