18/07/2008
NEWS STORY
The ING Renault F1 Team began its preparations for the German Grand Prix today with both Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet enjoying trouble-free practice sessions in Hockenheim and successfully completing their Friday programmes.
Conditions remained overcast throughout the day with a damp morning seeing the opening session take place on a drying track. Both Fernando and Nelson took the opportunity to run in the wet conditions, which could prove valuable given the uncertain weather forecast for the weekend. The track quickly dried out during the morning session and remained dry for the rest of the day.
Having tested at the circuit last week, the team adapted its Friday workload accordingly and concentrated on finalising the set-up options of the R28, and completing its tyre evaluation work. By the end of the three hours available, the team had completed a grand total of 128 laps across the different track conditions and collected some interesting and valuable data. Attention now turns to maximising the final free practice session and confirming the potential of the R28 in tomorrow afternoon's qualifying session.
Fernando Alonso: "It was a normal day without any difficulties. The rain this morning affected our programme slightly, but it also allowed us to run on a wet track which could turn out to be useful for later in the weekend. We must still improve the general balance of the car, but we have already laid the foundations for the weekend."
Nelson Piquet: "As we drove here last week, we already had a good basis to work from and we have built on that today by driving on a damp track this morning and a dry track in the afternoon. We were able to make good progress and have improved the set-up of the car. We will continue to work on this tomorrow morning so that we are ready for qualifying, but we are certainly moving in the right direction."
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: "As at the last race, we recently tested on this circuit and therefore the focus of our programme today was mainly to resolve unfinished business. The conditions were slightly different than at the test last week, but it remained cold and the grip level was basically low. The balance of the car is not yet everything we want, but we have done our homework today and are now looking forward to a competitive weekend."
Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Track Operations: "Having tested here last week, we know this circuit well and so today was not about discovering new things. Instead it was primarily about optimising the behaviour of the car based on the data we had gathered last week and to make the most of the three hours of practice that were available to us. In terms of the engine, everything went well as we had worked on various aspects such as the cooling last week. Today was just a case of validating this."