Spa testing, Day 1
The ING Renault F1 Team discovers the new Spa-Francorchamps
layout
Nelson Piquet Jr. R27-06: 52 laps, 364 kilometres, fastest
lap: 1'47.996
Today, the ING Renault F1 Team began a 3-day test session
on the revamped Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. The
layout has been slightly modified since the last Belgian Grand
Prix in 2005, and welcomed all 11 teams in an entirely new
paddock.
Nelson Piquet Jr did the ING Renault Team's first day's work
and it was also his debut on this circuit in an F1 car. The
aim was to establish a baseline set-up for the R27, and to
adapt the RS27 engine to the day's conditions. It was, in
fact, the first time that the team had run a V8 at Spa since
the regulation changes.
Nelson Piquet's programme was slightly hindered by an electronic
glitch in the late morning, which forced him to stop at the
end of the pit lane. The team quickly found and solved the
problem, and continued its technical programme collecting
a lot of interesting data. By the end of the first day Nelson
had covered 52 laps, over 364 kilometres, and set the fifth-quickest
time in 1'47.996.
Tomorrow, Heikki Kovalainen will pursue the team's development
programme.
Nelson Piquet Jr.: "I was happy to
be able to do today's test on this circuit which is certainly
one of the most beautiful in the world. It's undulating and
there are several sections with a succession of challenging
corners; it's very demanding. I had a small problem this morning
but this afternoon we were able to cover a lot of laps and
we made excellent progress. I think we've got a good working
baseline set-up for the rest of this week's practice."
Christian Silk, chief test engineer: "Our
programme was delayed because of a glitch we had this morning,
but we managed to get the best out of the afternoon and the
results are very interesting. We're concentrating on preparing
for the Belgian Grand Prix, but not only that as we're also
trying to progress in our overall development programme: we're
working flat out. Nelson said he was pretty happy with the
car's overall balance even if we still have a little work
to do in this area. We'll make a few more changes this evening
to prepare for tomorrow with Heikki."
DRIVER TEAM BEST LAPS
1 HAMILTON McLaren 1'46.613 83
2 KUBICA BMW 1'47.059 81
3 MASSA Ferrari 1'47.469 65
4 SCHUMACHER Toyota 1'47.878 70
5 PIQUET ING Renault F1 Team 1'47.996 52
6 COULTHARD Red Bull Racing 1'48.243 55
7 ROSSITER Super Aguri 1'48.287 65
8 LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1'49.179 63
9 ROSBERG Williams 1'49.288 60
10 KLIEN Honda 1'49.419 63
11 VAN DER GARDE Spyker 1'49.712 53
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