Renault Monza test notes 2006-08-30

The Renault F1 Team continued its development programme today in Monza, ahead of the forthcoming Italian Grand Prix -- one of the most eagerly awaited rounds of the 2006 world championship battle.

In spite of nearly ten red flags during the day, the Renault F1 Team completed a busy programme of 198 laps with the two cars, and was pleased with the results.

Giancarlo Fisichella's second day of testing saw him continue the tyre programme he had commenced on Tuesday. He focused on his work with Michelin, and made the most of goods track conditions to conduct a productive programme. He worked on longer runs during the afternoon to evaluate the tyres' endurance, having looked at performance this morning and yesterday. Fisico was pleased with the results of the test at the end of the day, having finished second with a lap of 1:22.262.

Fernando Alonso's first day of testing saw the World Champion focus on chassis set-up in the morning to acclimatize himself to the unusual Monza circuit. After this, he worked on tyres as well, given that their performance will be a key performance factor in next week's race. He set fourth fastest time with a lap of 1:22.312.

Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer:

"We did a big tyre programme, and even though the circuit is still changing a lot, we are pleased with the results and with the direction we are moving in. This is important work for next week, especially because we don't often test at Monza and because this is the first test back after the summer break. We need another productive programme tomorrow, but this was a good day's work."

Fernando Alonso and Heikki Kovalainen will be in action tomorrow for the final day of testing.

-credit: renault