11/11/2016
NEWS STORY
Renault Sport Formula One Team had a mixed first day of the Formula 1 Grande Prêmio do Brasil at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace. Test Driver Sergey Sirotkin took part in his second-ever F1 session this morning, driving alongside Jolyon Palmer in FP1. In the afternoon, Kevin Magnussen returned to his car, posting the team's fastest lap of the day, a 1min 14.109secs. The team completed 132 laps throughout the day with no repeat of the wiring issue which affected Sergey's run in the morning.
Today's programme included evaluating the medium and soft Pirelli tyres. Jolyon ran both medium and soft tyres in the morning while Sergey sported the medium tyre only. In the afternoon, Kevin and Jolyon both evaluated the medium and soft compound. Jolyon ran the HALO in the first part of the morning session. Sergey's running in FP1 was limited due to an electrical problem (wiring loom issue) which was subsequently fixed in time for Kevin's FP2.
Sergey Sirotkin: "It was very nice to be back at the wheel of the R.S.16 this morning as it's been a while. Interlagos is a legendary circuit so it was great to drive around this historic track behind the wheel of an F1 car. Unfortunately we didn't do as many laps as we would have liked due to a problem with the car after I'd completed 10 laps. These things happen and that's what practice is for. Of course, it was frustrating not to get more time driving, however I'm still really looking forward to my next opportunity for an outing with the team."
Kevin Magnussen: "We did a good afternoon's work and I felt comfortable pretty much straight away. I was able to get some good laps under my belt including a respectable long run. I'm happy with the way today went and look forward to preparing for the rest of the weekend with all the data we've gathered."
Jolyon Palmer: "Despite the fact that we did a decent amount of laps today, I think that there is still some work to be done as I haven't felt completely happy with the car. I want to make a jump forward tomorrow. The positive is that we have gathered a lot of data with all the running done in FP1 and in FP2. I tried the halo for the first time early on this morning and my first impression is that it felt a bit like I had a roof over my head."
Bob Bell, Chief Technical Officer: "Despite the issue encountered this morning, it has been a reasonably positive day. Sergey was unfortunate to lose laps because of a wiring loom glitch, however we were able to complete a normal Friday morning programme with Jo. In the afternoon we completed our full programme so have plenty of data to work on. Kevin was happier with his car than Jo so we know there's work to be done. We hope to be able to improve on both sides of the garage ahead of qualifying."
Check out our Friday gallery from Interlagos, here.