2007 Australian GP, Friday - 16 MAR 2007
A difficult first day in Melbourne for the ING Renault F1
Team, with both cars suffering restricted on-track running.
Giancarlo Fisichella
Heikki Kovalainen
Free Practice 1: P12, 1:32.011, 14 laps
Free Practice 1: P8, 1:31.571, 20 laps
Free Practice 2: P4, 1:27.941, 33 laps
Free Practice 2: P18, 1:30.097, 10 laps
Fastest Lap on Hard Tyre: 1:28.344
Fastest Lap on Hard Tyre: 1:30.097
Fastest Lap on Soft Tyre: 1:27.941
Fastest Lap on Soft Tyre: n/a
The ING Renault F1 Team experienced a difficult opening
day of the 2007 Formula 1 season during the first two practice
sessions at Melbourne's Albert Park Circuit. Rain this morning
meant the circuit was drying throughout the first 90 minute
session, and the teams could only fit dry tyres during the
final minutes. This afternoon's session was held under overcast
skies, but the circuit remained dry – and the teams
were able to make progress with their technical programmes.
Unfortunately, the ING Renault F1 Team was unable to take
full advantage of the dry conditions, with both cars stopping
on track at different points of the second session: Heikki
Kovalainen halfway through, and Giancarlo Fisichella during
the final minutes. Both cars suffered from similar fuel pressure
problems, which are currently being investigated by the team.
However, in spite of the disruption they caused, the team
was pleased with the car's level of performance, as demonstrated
by Fisichella's long and short runs during the afternoon.
The priority ahead of qualifying and the race will be to diagnose
and resolve today's problems, in order to allow the drivers
to make the most of the R27 during qualifying tomorrow.
Giancarlo Fisichella
It was a bit of a mixed day for us – the performance
of the car looked quite encouraging, especially on the longer
runs, but our problems meant we didn't complete the programme.
The set-up was not fantastic this morning, especially on the
first lap, but we made good progress, and it was much more
consistent during the afternoon session. The hard tyre is
working well on our car, but we are suffering from some graining
with the soft tyre at the moment, which is costing us performance.
We still need to fine-tune the set-up, but the handling is
OK, and now we need to try and match our long-run performance,
on the first lap with new tyres.
Heikki Kovalainen
It wasn't a perfect first day for me, but we got something
done even so. It was only a minor problem that stopped the
car, and that meant I lost the whole of the dry, second session
– and I didn't manage to run the soft tyre at any point.
When I was out on track, though, the car balance felt good
and I feel I have learned the track without too many problems.
It is a good, challenging layout – and it makes a nice
change from driving round Jerez and Barcelona like I did most
of last year! Of course, it will be important for me to make
good use of tomorrow morning's session to catch up the lost
time from today, but I think our pace looks pretty strong
– and I am confident we will be in good shape.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
Our first Friday under the new rules was a little more traumatic
than we had expected. The weather compromised the first session,
but that was true for all the teams; however, both cars suffered
fuel pressure problems during the afternoon which cost us
track time, particularly with Heikki on his first day. The
cause is currently unexplained, and we will be investigating
this evening. Apart from this, the drivers were both happy
with the balance and grip of the car – and Giancarlo's
long run on the hard tyre this afternoon looked competitive.
Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Track Operations
It was a far from ideal start to the new season, with both
programmes interrupted because of reliability problems. The
fuel pressure problem we suffered has a number of possible
causes, and they are under investigation at the moment. Of
course, if we are to encounter difficulties, this is the best
point of the weekend at which to do so, but we now need to
make sure that they are not reproduced during more critical
moments. Overall, it has been a frustrating start –
but we will work hard to ensure the situation improves tomorrow.
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