16/12/2005
NEWS STORY
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On the penultimate day of testing at Jerez, Renault test driver Franck Montagny was quickest, as teammate, 2005 World Champion, Fernando Alonso, returned to word after a two-month lay-off since securing the 'double' for the French team.
For Fernando, it was a day of discovery. His running allowed him to acclimatise himself to the V8 power levels, to understand the adjustments this demands in terms of driving style and set-up, and to get a feel for 2006 tyre development. On the other side of the garage, Montagny, on his last day with the team, worked on a set-up programme this morning before conducting a brake evaluation programme.
"We had a very productive final day of dry running," said Christian Silk, the team's chief test engineer. "Both cars once again ran trouble-free, and the drivers completed their programmes.
"Fernando had an interesting day learning about the V8 power levels, and was immediately competitive. Franck concluded his penultimate day of testing with the team on the right note: he did a lot of laps, and took top spot on the timesheets. Tomorrow will see him run with us for the final time, and I would like to thank him for all his work over the past two years: he has always given 100% to the team, to help us move forward, and we see the reward for his work this year. We wish him much success in the future."
"It was a positive day for me," said Alonso. "I ran with the simulated engine power to understand how it will be next year, and everything went well. You can feel the power loss straight away, but you get used to it quickly and in any case, everybody is dealing with the same thing.
"I don't believe it makes it any easier to drive an F1 car: once you are really on the limit, it is always difficult, whether you are talking about an F3 car or an F1 car, a V10 engine or a V8. We set competitive lap times with our simulated set-up, and I am confident that we will be doing the same with the R26 next year."
Splitting the two French cars, and the quickest of all V8 runners at this circuit in post-season testing, was Michael Schumacher.
The German, alternating behind the wheel of the two cars available: the F2005 fitted with a regulated power engine and the F2004 M, running the V8 engine, completed a total of 113 laps; 30 with the F2004 M and 83 with the F2005. His best time was set in the V8 car.
"I am happy to be back driving again," said the seven-time champion, "and I am very pleased with these two days of testing at Jerez, which went off without any particular problems.
"It shows the team has worked well over the past few weeks, as has Bridgestone on the tyre front. I can't wait to be back on track when testing resumes. I would like to wish everyone a good Christmas and a happy 2006!"
Nico Rosberg was joined by Narain Karthikeyan, the Indian having his third outing in the Cosworth powered car.
It was a difficult day for both drivers with Rosberg sidelined by an oil leak, and Karthikeyan losing tracktime as a result of an engine problem and a couple of offs.
Honda was the only other team on duty, with Jenson Button and Anthony Davidson in action.
Button's early runs were spent finding a good balance in the car before he began looking at various chassis set-up options. A couple of minor issues and a gearbox change interrupted his running although Jenson did complete 87 laps in total.
Davidson concentrated on a tyre evaluation on longer runs in the morning session, followed by a chassis set-up programme. He completed a total of 81 laps.
The team has now completed over 7000 kms in the three weeks of winter testing, with almost 6000 kms of running on the new V8 Honda engine.
"We couldn't complete all the laps we wanted today because we had a few issues which interrupted our programme," said Button. "We did run through some chassis set-up comparisons which provided useful data but it was just one of those days. Overall the last three weeks of testing have been very positive; it's certainly the best winter we have had so far. Reliability has been good, as has the testing programme itself, and I am positive we can take this forward into the new year."
"We have had a revised engine package at the test this week which has proved successful," said Shuhei Nakamoto, Honda Racing Development's engineering director. "This specification has done the equivalent of two race weekend distances with no issues which is good news."
Tomorrow (Saturday) is the final day of testing here, with Renault and Honda carrying out a wet test.
To check out our Jerez test picture gallery, click here