Renault Monza test notes 2006-06-13

Day one of testing in Monza for the Renault F1 Team after the British Grand Prix last weekend.

To prepare for the American campaign, the Renault F1 Team is testing in Monza for three days this week with Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen at the wheel of the R26.

The two Renault drivers began their programme at the Italian track with some set-up work to prepare for the next race in Canada in two weeks' time.

Giancarlo Fisichella was responsible for engine development today and his results seemed encouraging. As he covered 98 laps without any major problem, the Italian showed a good level of performance on this track he really enjoys and set the fastest laptime of 1:23.647 at the end of the session.

His teammate Heikki Kovalainen remained focused on tyre testing with our partner Michelin this afternoon to prepare for the US Grand Prix. Once again, the directions seemed interesting and will be confirmed later this week. For his first day of testing, the Finn set the third-fastest laptime in 1:23.739 and covered 110 laps.

Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer:

"Our first day was really satisfying and we already completed the first half of our tyre testing. We noticed interesting results of the new package we would like to use for the Canadian GP. The car worked pretty well and the drivers seemed happy with the testing we completed. Giancarlo has a very good experience on this track and Heikki did his first session in F1 in Monza today. He was really efficient what is very satisfying as well."

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