Renault Barcelona test notes 2009-03-09

ING Renault F1 Team and Nelson Piquet begin testing in Barcelona

Nelson Piquet, R29-01, 125 laps, 582 km, fastest lap 1:21.662

The ING Renault F1 Team continued its preparations for the new season today as Nelson Piquet completed a busy day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona.

The priority for the day was again to achieve maximum mileage as the team evaluated some new development items. Nelson also worked on improving the set-up of the car as he completed 125 laps and ended the day with the 5th fastest time.

Nelson hands the R29 over to Fernando Alonso for tomorrow with the Spaniard remaining in the cockpit until Thursday.

Nelson Piquet: "It was a really positive day for me and nice to be able to complete so many laps on a dry track. I feel a lot more comfortable in the car now and, as we didn't have any issues during the day, I could get on with the set-up programme, which taught us some interesting things about the car. I will be back in the car in Jerez next week where we will continue our preparations for the start of the season."

Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer: "It was a relatively trouble-free day for Nelson, which is good for him as he has had some difficult days with the weather at some of the earlier tests. We did lots of laps, the car was good and Nelson was happy with it and made good progress with the set-up. So overall an encouraging first day of running for us. For the rest of the week we will concentrate on getting ready for the first race."

-credit: renault