2007 Monaco Grand Prix,
The ING Renault F1 Team enjoyed a busy and productive opening
day of practice at the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix today in Monte-Carlo.
Giancarlo Fisichella
Free Practice 1: P4, 1:17.758, 27 laps
Free Practice 2: P5, 1:16.753, 41 laps
Fastest Lap on Hard Tyre: 1:17.758
Fastest Lap on Soft Tyre: 1:16.753
Heikki Kovalainen
Free Practice 1: P16, 1:19.321, 27 laps
Free Practice 2: P17, 1:18.086, 41 laps
Fastest Lap on Hard Tyre: 1:19.321
Fastest Lap on Soft Tyre: 1:18.086
Both drivers completed nearly seventy laps during the three
hours of free practice, running through busy technical programmes
as they tracked the ever-improving circuit conditions and
fine-tuned the set-up of the R27. They evaluated the hard
and soft compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres available this
weekend, and were both able to make good progress in improving
the handling balance of the car.
The only hiccups during the day were an accident for Giancarlo
in turn 1 at the end of the morning session, which damaged
his chassis and forced him to run in Heikki's intended race
car during the afternoon (because, in line with team policy
which allocates the T-car to one of the drivers during Friday
practice, Heikki was using the T-car for today's sessions).
Equally, Heikki's final timed lap on fresh tyres was hindered
by traffic, which left him unrepresentatively low in the timesheets,
but it is nevertheless worth nothing that he was the only
rookie not to crash on the opening day of practice. Overall,
though, the day was encouraging, and gave a solid foundation
for the team's work on Saturday.
Giancarlo Fisichella
This was a better first day for us than at recent races. The
car balance was consistent, and I was feeling very comfortable
out there. The only problem was that the tyres were graining
quite badly in the very low grip conditions, but we are confident
that will disappear as the circuit conditions improve. I have
to say thank you to my mechanics, who did a fantastic job
at lunchtime to swap my chassis over, after I damaged my first
one with a small crash at Ste Dévote. They made it
possible for me to run in P2, and now we have a really good
starting point for Saturday morning.
Heikki Kovalainen
It wasn't a very spectacular day for me. Monaco is a fantastic
challenge for all the drivers, and to be honest, the car felt
pretty good in terms of the balance. But ultimately, the times
weren't quite there today, so we need to work tonight and
tomorrow to improve things. I didn't get my last flying lap
in during the second session because I was held up in traffic,
so for sure there is more performance to come. It was a solid
start for me, and I am optimistic that we can improve a lot
on Saturday.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
It was a normal, fraught Thursday for the team in Monaco,
but it was a day from which we can draw many positives. Giancarlo's
accident this morning damaged his original race chassis, and
this will be replaced for Saturday. However, for this afternoon's
session, it forced us into some car-swapping, and the mechanics
once again succeeded in preparing the cars faultlessly under
considerable pressure. Out on track, Giancarlo's performance
underlined the improvements we believe we are making at the
moment, and with more, we hope, to come on Saturday, we are
feeling more confident for qualifying than at previous races.
Heikki's day was one of ups and downs, and unfortunately his
new tyre run at the end of practice was compromised by traffic.
Looking beyond the headline times, though, he and Giancarlo
were lapping in very similar times on old tyres, and that
leaves us encouraged by both drivers' performances ahead of
Saturday.
Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Track Operations
Thursday in Monaco is always about maximising track time,
and every team shared our approach in attempting to complete
as many laps as possible during the three hours of running
today. In terms of our technical programmes, it was a good
day as we completed our planned work, and did not encounter
any bad surprises. The focus, as always, was on fine-tuning
engine mapping, shift points and cooling levels to ensure
the engines will be as robust and high-performing as possible
on Sunday afternoon.
|
