Brazilian GP: Renault Friday practice notes

Fernando 7th and Jacques 12th after a studious opening day at Interlagos for the Mild Seven Renault F1 Team.

The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team completed a solid Friday programme at the Brazilian Interlagos circuit today, during the opening day of practice for the final race of the 2004 season. As usual, the day's work consisted of tyre evaluation and initial work on the set-up of the R24. Track conditions improved throughout the day, meaning it is difficult to draw any firm conclusions about ultimate performance between the different teams. However, both Renault drivers are pleased with the progress they made during the two practice sessions.

Fernando Alonso:

"The circuit was very dirty this morning so it was quite difficult to start work and in fact I only did a dozen laps in the first session. In the afternoon, though, the circuit was improving lap by lap and we managed to make some pretty positive set-up changes as well as testing both types of tyre. The car feels quite light to drive here because of the low levels of downforce and it also took some time to get used to the bumpy track surface again. But overall, I am pleased with how today went."

Jacques Villeneuve:

"We improved the car a lot today. It was very difficult to drive over the bumps this morning but after some changes to the set-up, it was a lot more comfortable and also faster. We are still missing some performance on the first timed lap on new tyres but the car seems quick and consistent on the longer runs."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering:

"We experienced a good opening day with both cars. As usual in Brazil, the conditions improved all the way through the day and this is a factor we must take into account when analysing our data this evening. However, we made some changes to the car which seemed effective and we are definitely well prepared for Sunday."

Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Operations:

"It was a perfectly normal Friday for the team: we experienced no problems and made good progress with the different programmes we had planned. The circuit here in Brazil is well known as being very bumpy and this is a factor we must take into account when configuring the engine to avoid over-revving."

"It is difficult to make any certain statements about how quick we are relative to the competition owing to the changing circuit conditions during the day. However, from our point of view, we are confident that we have completed a solid day's work and will now wait to see how that translates on the timesheets tomorrow."

Fernando Alonso
Chassis: R24-07
Practice session 1: 1:13.990, 10th, 12 laps
Practice session 2: 1:12.005, 7th, 30 laps

Jacques Villeneuve
Chassis: R24-08
Practice session 1: 1:14.585, 17th, 13 laps
Practice session 2: 1:12.316, 12th, 31 laps

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