Jerez testing, Day 2,
Fernando Alonso rejoins the ING Renault F1 Team for
his first test of the year
Fernando Alonso R27-06, 70 laps, 310 km, fastest lap: 1'19:503
The ING Renault F1 Team continued its preparations for 2008
today with Fernando Alonso taking over driving responsibilities
from Nelson Piquet Junior. It was an important day as it was
Fernando's first appearance in Renault colours since being
confirmed as a 2008 race driver in December.
Arriving at the Jerez circuit yesterday evening, the Spaniard
spoke to the engineers to understand how the first day of
the programme had gone, and to prepare for his two days work
with the ING Renault F1 Team. His first day behind the wheel
gave the Spaniard the opportunity to drive a car in accordance
with the 2008 electronic regulations, and most significantly
without traction control. It was also a good opportunity to
reacclimatise to the team with which he has worked for six
years in the past.
At the end of the session, having covered 70 laps, the overall
result was an encouraging first day as Fernando Alonso topped
the timesheet with a best lap of 1'19.503.
Fernando Alonso: "The result of my
first day in the car is encouraging. I could not wait to drive
again, but at the same time I was a bit tentative. I quickly
settled back in to the team and everything went well. We made
good progress throughout the day, but there is a lot still
to do. I had to adapt at first to the car and get used to
driving the car without traction control, but I am convinced
that that soon I will be used to this and will not remember
what is was like to drive with traction control.
Christian Silk, Test Chief Engineer: "The
whole team was very happy to have Fernando back today. It
is a bit like he was never away, and he was very relaxed for
the whole day. There was a great deal to discuss with the
engineers and we covered a lot of ground and so it has been
an encouraging day. We can now continue in the same direction
and with determination for the season ahead.
DRIVER - TEAM - BEST LAPS
1 ALONSO ING Renault F1 Team 1'19.503 70
2 DE LA ROSA McLaren 1'19.650 111
3 RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1'19.708 90
4 ROSBERG Williams 1'19.755 81
5 MASSA Ferrari 1'19.772 86
6 KOVALAINEN McLaren 1'19.780 130
7 VETTEL Toro Rosso 1'20.305 86
8 BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1'20.346 76
9 WEBBER Red Bull Racing 1'20.392 80
10 NAKAJIMA Williams 1'20.525 68
11 GLOCK Toyota 1'20.598 109
12 FISICHELLA Force India 1'20.764 76
13 KOBAYASHI Toyota 1'22.060 56
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