Renault Barcelona test notes 2008-04-14

The ING Renault F1 Team begins its preparations for the Spanish Grand Prix

Nelson Piquet R28-04, 91 laps, 424 km, fastest lap 1:21.913

The ING Renault F1 Team was back in Europe today to complete the first of four days testing at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona in Spain. The team made the most of beautiful conditions throughout the day to begin its preparations for the Spanish Grand Prix in two weeks time.

Nelson Piquet was on driving duty today as the team experimented with several upgrades to the R28. The young Brazilian spent the day evaluating the changes to the car, and completed some general set-up work in preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The team will continue with the programme for the rest of the week as Fernando Alonso joins the team for the next couple of days, while Nelson returns to the cockpit on Thursday.

Nelson Piquet: "It was another good day of work. The track conditions were good, so there were no problems there and we had a productive morning. Unfortunately I lost some time in the afternoon and so I did not do as many laps as I would have liked. We tried some new things but the more interesting work will come later in the week."

Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer: "The morning programme ran very well and so it was a solid day of work with the only delay coming at lunchtime. The car is working very well and the factory has made a huge effort to get the car ready for this week. We just need to carry on this good work for the rest of the week.

-credit: renault