Alvaro Parente tested by Renault in Jerez

Winner of the World Series Formula Renault 3.5, Alvaro Parente was invited by Renault to take the wheel of the R27. The team was therefore on track at the Jerez circuit for a fourth and final day. The Portuguese driver completed 64 laps on his first day driving a Formula 1 car.

As has been the case since 2005, the winner of the flagship championship of the World Series by Renault is invited to a test with Renault, the sponsor and supplier of the single-seaters. Crowned last season, Alvaro Parente experienced a dream start to the year thanks to this reward.

On January 8, he went to the Enstone factory to have his seat molded and participate in technical briefings. Last Sunday, he joined the ING Renault F1 Team in Jerez to familiarize himself with the team’s testing operations. This Thursday marked the highlight of his first experience with F1, as he got behind the wheel of the R27.

Welcomed by a shining sun, the Portuguese driver dedicated the morning to acclimating to the single-seater and its controls in small series of three to five laps. The work continued in the afternoon: the team tested Alvaro’s sensitivity by adjusting the settings of the R27. By the end of the day, Alvaro set his best time on new tires with a lap of 1:21.721.

Alvaro Parente: Spending these few days with the ING Renault F1 Team allowed me to understand in the best way possible how a World Championship-winning team operates. Everything was new to me; there are so many people around the car and behind the computers! I must thank every member of the team, they all perfectly supported me. Behind the wheel, I was mostly impressed by the speed through fast corners and the centrifugal force. I expected very powerful braking and quickly adapted to this aspect. Each time I went out for a run, I felt like I was learning something.

« My lap times have consistently improved, and I tried to give good feedback to the engineers. It was a fantastic day from which I draw a very positive conclusion. I hope this experience will be beneficial for the rest of my career. » concluded the Portuguese.

Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer commented: « Today, we built our program around Alvaro. It was primarily about making sure he felt comfortable in the car and confident, which is what we tried to do with him this morning during relatively short runs. This allowed him to adjust his driving position, familiarize himself with the different buttons on the wheel and our procedures. Then we were able to start getting to the heart of the matter by revisiting a possibly more aggressive car setup, based on the latest tests conducted with Nelsinho and Fernando this week. He was thus able to do longer runs this afternoon. Alvaro took a very intelligent approach. He did not foolishly try to attack right from the start. He found his bearings and gradually pushed his limits to eventually achieve very respectable times today. For us, the main thing was to see his ability to adapt and understand the car, to evaluate the quality of his feedback. »

« He exchanged a lot with the engineers and I believe I can say that this day proved to be very encouraging for him as well as for us. We now hope that he will have an interesting opportunity for this season. »

Photos of the event are available in the photo F1 section.