Australian GP: Renault Friday practice notes

The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team completed a satisfying first day of practice at Melbourne's Albert Park circuit. In spite of the challenges imposed by the new engine regulations, both drivers completed their planned programme, working on car set-up and tyre selection. In terms of performance, results were encouraging, with the drivers finishing in the top five in both practice sessions.

Jarno Trulli:

"In general, it was a good trouble-free day for us. We completed our programme on the set-up and the tyres, and I am pleased with the results. So far, the car has been reliable and I think we have a solid base for further improvements. I am confident we can keep making progress as the track improves, and am looking forward to the new format qualifying session tomorrow."

Fernando Alonso:

"From my point of view, it was a pretty good day. We still need to improve in terms of the car's balance, and particularly work hard with the data to make the correct tyre choice. We did lots of laps, which allowed us to improve the set-up quite significantly, and I think we ran a good programme."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering:

"As expected, the restrictions imposed by the new regulations make Friday a slightly frustrating day, as we are unable to obtain all the answers we are looking for in the necessarily limited running time. However, a well-disciplined programme saw us make good progress during the two hours, with everything running according to plan. Our level of competitiveness is satisfactory and the fight at the front is predictably close, except of course for the dominant start Ferrari have made. However, I am sure we can look to close that gap."

Denis Chevrier, Engine Operations Manager:

"A positive first day from the engine side. The best news is that there is nothing to report: there were no incidents, and the cars completed medium-distance runs throughout the day, evaluating tyres, set-ups and track conditions. Our objective was to lay down a solid basis for the rest of the weekend, and I think we have done so, even if it is hard to draw any meaningful conclusions in terms of performance at this stage."

Jarno Trulli
Chassis: R24-03
3rd position (sessions 1+2)
Fastest time: 1:25.757, 33 laps

Fernando Alonso
Chassis: R24-02
5th position (sessions 1+2)
Fastest time: 1:25.853, 36 laps

Spare car  R24-01

Spare chassis  R24-04

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