Silverstone testing, Day 1
ING Renault F1 Team begins its Silverstone test programme
Heikki Kovalainen, R27-06, 63 laps, 319 laps, best lap: 1:23.510
Although the chequered flag fell at the US GP less than 48
hours ago, the ING Renault F1 Team is already hard at work
testing at Silverstone, ahead of the forthcoming British Grand
Prix that will be held at this circuit in three weeks' time.
The ING Renault F1 Team has planned an extensive development
programme for the three days, which Heikki Kovalainen began
today. The young Finn focused on car set-up on the opening
morning, and once he had found a satisfactory balance, began
the heart of the technical programme. In spite of low grip
conditions, he was able to compare a number of different aerodynamic
set-ups, before making an initial comparison of the two tyre
types that Bridgestone will bring to this race (the medium
and hard compounds from the 2007 range).
At the end of the day, Heikki had completed a total of 63
laps, equivalent to 319 km, and finished in P4 with a best
lap of 1:23.510. The day was interrupted by numerous red flags
for other cars, but the team nevertheless collected useful
data, which will be enriched during the next two days.
After good weather at the start of the day, clouds begin
building through the afternoon, which indicates a likely deterioration
of conditions for tomorrow. Heikki Kovalainen and Nelson Piquet
Jr. will be sharing chassis R27-06 tomorrow, and will continue
the development work begun today.
Heikki Kovalainen: "It was an interesting
day for us, I think. We are determined to continue our progress
from recent weeks, and this is a very important test session
for us. I collected some good data today, which we will analyse
overnight and build upon tomorrow. It was also good to find
my feet on this circuit, which I know well, before my first
British GP in three weeks' time."
Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer: "The
circuit was very slippery and low grip this morning, which
is normal on the first day of testing. But there are lots
of teams running, and the grip level will climb quickly as
they all put rubber down. That will help us to make good progress
with the test programme in the coming days. We didn't quite
complete our planned programme, but the work we did was very
positive, and looks encouraging for the rest of the week."
DRIVER TEAM BEST LAPS
1 SCHUMACHER Toyota 1'22.794 71
2 DE LA ROSA McLaren 1'22.915 98
3 WEBBER Red Bull Racing 1'23.329 42
4 KOVALAINEN ING Renault F1 Team 1'23.510 63
5 BADOER Ferrari 1'23.768 57
6 HEIDFELD BMW 1'23.841 41
7 LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1'24.125 50
8 NAKAJIMA Williams 1'24.665 124
9 VALLES Spyker 1'25.394 36
10 VAN DER GARDE Spyker 1'25.931 27
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