US GP: Renault Friday practice notes

Fernando's day cut short with a spin, while Jarno struggles for grip and balance.

The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team experienced a challenging opening day at the US Grand Prix in Indianapolis. Jarno Trulli finished the second practice session in twelfth position, reporting a lack of grip and poor car balance. As for Fernando Alonso, a spin just three laps into the afternoon session meant he was unable to continue, and lost valuable track time.

Jarno Trulli, 12th:

"I had a difficult day today. Obviously, we concentrated on tyre testing as normal, plus a little bit of set-up work, but at this stage we do not seem to be competitive. The circuit was very slippery, which means the car has very little grip, and we haven't yet found a good balance."

Fernando Alonso, 20th:

"It was a very difficult opening day from my point of view. The car had very low grip this morning, then I made a mistake early in the second session: the rear of the car was quite nervous, and I lost control under braking for Turn 11. At the moment, we are not in very good shape, and there is a lot of work to do this evening to try and catch up the time we have lost today."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering:

"As the number of cars that left the track today showed, the circuit conditions were extremely difficult. The nature of the circuit means that the low downforce configuration is particularly undesirable when the infield is so slippery. Our job was made more difficult by the fact that we had only one car with which to conduct the tyre comparison and even then, Jarno suffered a suspected gearbox problem which interrupted him, However we have managed to gather our data, and now need to make the best possible use of it."

Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Operations:

"It was certainly not a trouble-free day for us, and the already difficult task of picking the right tyres was made more difficult by the loss of one car at the start of the second session. From a purely engine point of view, we managed to gather the data we required in order to confirm our decisions regarding how the engine is used. But in terms of overall performance, our position is not particularly strong, and we will be working hard this evening to resolve that."

Jarno Trulli
Chassis: R24-03
Practice session 1: 1:13.351, 15 laps
Practice session 2: 1:12.441, 28 laps

Fernando Alonso
Chassis: RR24-02
Practice session 1: 1:12.989, 15 laps
Practice session 2: 1:13.732, 3 laps

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