09/03/2017
NEWS STORY
Renault concluded the penultimate day of pre-season testing with Jolyon Palmer at the wheel of the R.S.17 at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Jolyon completed 31 laps in the morning with his best lap time of 1min 22.418secs the then eighth fastest time. He returned to the car in the afternoon and completed a further 22 laps.
Jolyon Palmer: "It was rather frustrating today with interruptions from our side and also with other disruptions on track too. We never seemed to be able to get into a rhythm and I didn't get the same feel with the car that we had previously. We're having a good look at the data to understand where we need to improve as we know the scope and potential is there. I'm hoping for a better day to end the test tomorrow."
Remi Taffin, Engine Technical Director: "We have a completely new power unit for 2017 and we have been mileage-limited with an element on the ERS side this week. We saw some similar issues in development on the dyno, however testing on track has magnified this. Fixes are already underway and we expect to have them in place for Melbourne so we achieve the appropriate level of reliability for the start of the season, however this has impacted on our running here in Barcelona.
"Today we revised our driver run-plan so Jolyon was in the car in the afternoon as well as the morning to gain more laps in the R.S.17, as he'd experienced more down-time than Nico so far this test. In terms of performance we are satisfied we have taken a positive step forward and there is more to come over the season ahead. We are learning with every day with the car, so it is a case of continual progress."
Both drivers are scheduled to be back in action tomorrow, with Nico taking to the wheel first.