Report Friday – (Almost) Normal Day for Renault

Renault experienced a rather typical session this Friday despite some issues encountered by Kovalainen.

The Finn had mechanical troubles this afternoon during the free practice session 2 but remains optimistic. He wants to achieve a good result here, and the numerous data collected today will be valuable for the qualifiers.

Giancarlo Fisichella – 8th and 10th

“It was a relatively normal working day as far as I’m concerned. The track was dirty this morning especially, and it took a little while for the track conditions to improve, but they were pretty good at the end of the second session this afternoon.”

“The car proved to be inconsistent due to the lack of overall grip on the track, but we know in which direction we need to work tonight to improve the situation by tomorrow. As for the tires, both types seem to behave in the same way on either long or short runs.”

Heikki Kovalainen – 10th and 11th

“I believe the day didn’t go so badly, despite my problem in the second session. I lost a bit of time on track today, but thanks to the efforts of my mechanics, I managed to get back on track before the end of the session for a few runs, which was important.”

“It was my first time on this track and I must say it was quite nice, the surface is very smooth and you can really attack the curbs hard. It’s a modern track, the grip will come quickly, I think.”

“I managed to complete most of my program in the end and we know that we still have a bit to gain by tomorrow. It will be tight once again tomorrow in qualifying but I believe we are where we belong!”

Alan Permane – Chief Race Engineer

“This has been a more difficult day than the one we experienced last week, and consequently, we have a bit more work ahead of us this evening. We are not yet 100% satisfied with the car’s balance, which means we still have room for improvement in terms of overall performance.”

“Our work program today was very standard, with tire testing and the evaluation of different aerodynamic options to find the best compromise between the long straights and the more winding sections of this circuit. Now we have to improve the overall balance of the car and provide our drivers with the car and settings they need to approach tomorrow’s qualifying in the best conditions.”

Denis Chevrier – Head of Trackside Engine Teams

“Our objective for this Friday once again was to maximize track time and benefit from incident-free practice sessions. Unfortunately, this was not possible today with a fuel coupler issue that caused Heikki to lose fuel pressure and forced him to stop on the circuit.”

“However, the problem was quickly resolved and the impact of this failure on the day’s schedule was minimized. Aside from this incident, the day on the engine side went very normally, on a circuit that we only visit once a year. The data recorded today allowed us to adjust the engine for what awaits it tomorrow in qualifications and Sunday afternoon in the race!”