10/03/2017
NEWS STORY
Renault Sport Formula One Team completed the final day of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with both Nico Hulkenberg and Jolyon Palmer taking to the wheel of the R.S.17.
Nico started the day with short runs, setting a number of then fastest laps, with his best a 1min 19.885secs. He completed 45 laps. Jolyon took over in the afternoon, with a similar programme. He completed 43 laps with a best of 1min 20.205secs.
Nico Hulkenberg: "It was a productive final morning of the test for me with a lot of work completed. We answered some of the questions we had from the previous days and we made some more progress with the car, which is all you can want. We've tried a lot of set-ups over the course of the two tests; some were good and some were not so good, but the result is we know where to go with the car. It was good to get out there and have a few more performance orientated runs, but we know there's a lot more to come."
Jolyon Palmer: "The R.S.17 is awesome to drive and there is a lot of further potential yet to come. The car feels good in all the areas you'd want and it is definitely a strong improvement from the R.S.16 in every area. My final afternoon was promising in terms of pace and we made another step forward with a pretty much full afternoon in the car too. Australia is going to be really special with these cars and I am very positive for the season ahead."
Cyril Abiteboul, Managing Director: "This has been an exciting two weeks for everyone at Renault Sport Racing as we have seen the first Formula One car designed from the outset by us take to the track. The R.S.17 looks beautiful and we think it is a good platform to build the performance that will allow to achieve our aims for 2017. We know the areas we need to address. We think we already have a good step forward with performance thanks to this car and the new power unit as shown by our lap times today despite adverse circumstances in the previous days that prevented optimising the package.
"We have to focus on reliability with special attention on the ERS, which is already well underway. Everyone at Enstone, at Viry and at the track has been working exceptionally hard to get this car on track and it is empowering to experience this positive ethos. Nico and Jo have also done a great job, and I can already feel that they have the potential to make the contribution we are expecting to the team's performance. Melbourne is just around the corner and we can't wait to get this season underway."