Friday Report – Renault Rides the Wave of Performance

Despite changing track conditions, with a wet track session this morning followed by a drying track this afternoon, ING Renault F1 Team had a promising start to the weekend today at Interlagos, as part of the Brazilian Grand Prix, the final race of the 2007 World Championship.

And for good reason, during the first free practice, it was Kovalainen who made an impression with the third-fastest time. In the afternoon, it was Fisichella who, by finishing 5th, confirmed the good potential of the Renault team on Brazilian soil.

Giancarlo Fisichella – No Time and 5th

« I believe we are in a pretty good position at the end of this first day. The track evolved a lot throughout the afternoon but we made significant progress with the car’s setup and I think we are quite competitive. They did a remarkable job with the new track surface and it’s now much more enjoyable to drive. The grip level was still relatively low this morning when the track was wet but this afternoon it was much better. We now need to capitalize on this encouraging first day to make further progress tomorrow and hope for a good race on Sunday. »

Heikki Kovalainen – 3rd and 12th

« We made good progress today despite the tricky track conditions, and the overall balance of the car seems good. I need to pick up my pace a bit, but I believe we have identified the direction to take to make further progress tonight. I found my bearings quite quickly, and I must admit that I really like the circuit. There are very varied and interesting combinations of corners. I can’t wait to continue working again tomorrow. »

Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer

« With a wet track this morning and drying this afternoon, we had to adapt our program. The main goal was to see both our drivers comfortable with either soft or extra-soft tires, which we succeeded in doing without any issues. Considering this morning’s conditions, we decided to dedicate the session to solving a small problem on Giancarlo’s race car, in order to avoid disrupting our preparation for tomorrow morning’s qualifying session. We resolved the issue and then managed to be competitive this afternoon, which is a very good thing. Heikki learned the circuit quickly and was able to drive on both wet and dry tracks. The car seems to be behaving well here, so the day’s outcome is quite encouraging. »

Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Teams on Track

« As often in Interlagos, with so little track time, the field is very tight and the competition in qualifying promises to be very intense! On the engine front, there was not much to learn from this morning’s wet track session, which meant we had a rather busy afternoon trying to complete our technical program in this single session. The engines performed well, the top speed of both cars is competitive, and we had no technical incidents to report. More than anything this weekend, it’s the level of detail in our preparation that will be key and I believe we have started this weekend well. »

According to ING Renault F1 Team