Renault Paul Ricard test notes 2006-03-22

The Renault F1 Team gets back to testing after the opening races of the 2006 season.

After a successful start to the 2006 season, the Renault F1 Team test team returned to the track this week in Paul Ricard, to pursue the R26 development programme. A busy first day of three in the South of France saw Heikki Kovalainen in action in chassis R26-04.

Where the winter testing programme had focused on preparing the R26-RS26 package for the opening flyaway races, attention has now turned to the European campaign, beginning with the San Marino Grand Prix on 23 April. The focus of the team's efforts may have shifted, but the effort and workload remain as intensive as throughout the winter months.

Heikki Kovalainen completed a major tyre development programme with Michelin today, in preparation for the European races. It proved an interesting day, with plenty of data collected and at the end of which the Finn took fastest time of the day.

Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer:

"After overnight rain, the poor track conditions this morning meant we couldn't begin our programme immediately, so we began by completing some basic checks with this brand new chassis. As soon as the track had improved enough, we worked on tyre development and chassis set-up."

"I think we found some good directions, and we need to check these tomorrow before recommending them to the race team. The car ran very well today, and we found a good balance straight away. It was certainly a very positive day for the team."

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