French GP: Renault Friday notes

An arduous opening day in Magny-Cours

The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team experienced an arduous opening day at the French Grand Prix. Competing at its home race for the first time, the Team suffered from the low grip of the Magny-Cours circuit, with the prevailing conditions creating handling difficulties for the two cars. Jenson Button set the ninth-fastest time, whilst Jarno Trulli lost the afternoon session after spinning in the chicane at turns 6/7. Consequently, he ended the day in nineteenth position.

Jenson Button, 9th position

"It was a satisfactory day for me. We tried lots of different options in terms of car set-up, but we still have to find some more speed. The car works well on new tyres, but I'm struggling with grip once they are a little worn. There's plenty of work to do in order to improve before tomorrow."

Jarno Trulli, 19th position

"I'm very disappointed after today's sessions. We concentrated on improving car balance during the morning. The spin was simply my mistake. I am confident things will improve for tomorrow."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering, Mild Seven Renault F1 Team

"There's not much grip out there today, but as these are also the conditions we expect on Sunday, it was necessary to persevere with our race set-up work. Despite losing Jarno's input after his spin at the start of the second session, we were able to complete a tyre comparison with Jenson and we now know what we need to do for Sunday."

Denis Chevrier, Head of Race Engineering (Engine), Mild Seven Renault F1 Team

"We are disappointed that Jarno managed to complete so few laps, and even more so because the second session is when track conditions allow us to collect the most useful data. The fact that we lack half our usual amount of information penalises us in terms of the overall programme as well as Jarno's. We nevertheless experienced a normal day in terms of engine performance, which allowed us to evaluate certain parameters, such as slipstreaming on the long back straight, in conditions close to those we expect for the race."

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