2008 German Grand Prix, Friday - 18 JUL 2008
The ING Renault F1 Team began its preparations for the German
Grand Prix today with both Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet
enjoying trouble-free practice sessions in Hockenheim and
successfully completing their Friday programmes.
Fernando Alonso, R28-02
Nelson Piquet, R28-01
Free Practice 1: P4, 1:16.163, 22 laps
Free Practice 1: P10, 1:17.063, 26 laps
Free Practice 2: P6, 1:16.230, 38 laps
Free Practice 2: P15, 1:16.734, 42 laps
Conditions remained overcast throughout the day with a damp
morning seeing the opening session take place on a drying
track. Both Fernando and Nelson took the opportunity to run
in the wet conditions, which could prove valuable given the
uncertain weather forecast for the weekend. The track quickly
dried out during the morning session and remained dry for
the rest of the day.
Having tested at the circuit last week, the team adapted
its Friday workload accordingly and concentrated on finalising
the set-up options of the R28, and completing its tyre evaluation
work. By the end of the three hours available, the team had
completed a grand total of 128 laps across the different track
conditions and collected some interesting and valuable data.
Attention now turns to maximising the final free practice
session and confirming the potential of the R28 in tomorrow
afternoon's qualifying session.
Fernando Alonso
"It was a normal day without any difficulties. The rain
this morning affected our programme slightly, but it also
allowed us to run on a wet track which could turn out to be
useful for later in the weekend. We must still improve the
general balance of the car, but we have already laid the foundations
for the weekend."
Nelson Piquet
"As we drove here last week, we already had a good basis
to work from and we have built on that today by driving on
a damp track this morning and a dry track in the afternoon.
We were able to make good progress and have improved the set-up
of the car. We will continue to work on this tomorrow morning
so that we are ready for qualifying, but we are certainly
moving in the right direction."
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
"As at the last race, we recently tested on this circuit
and therefore the focus of our programme today was mainly
to resolve unfinished business. The conditions were slightly
different than at the test last week, but it remained cold
and the grip level was basically low. The balance of the car
is not yet everything we want, but we have done our homework
today and are now looking forward to a competitive weekend."
Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Track Operations
"Having tested here last week, we know this circuit well
and so today was not about discovering new things. Instead
it was primarily about optimising the behaviour of the car
based on the data we had gathered last week and to make the
most of the three hours of practice that were available to
us. In terms of the engine, everything went well as we had
worked on various aspects such as the cooling last week. Today
was just a case of validating this."
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