Formula One news

Renault lifted by Piquet's pace

Following last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix Renault F1 today began a four-day test programme at the Paul Ricard HTTT in the south of France.  The team began its work on a Monaco type circuit, continuing its development programme with chassis R27-06, and the young Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr. at the wheel.

Piquet completed his programme without any problems. The Brazilian concentrated on preparing for the race in Monaco next year, and continued to make progress with its planned development programme. The results from the opening day were encouraging, and by the end of the day, he had completed 125 laps, setting third-fastest lap in 1:07.056.

"I am pleased to be driving an F1 car here," said Piquet. "I know the circuit well and it was interesting to see how it looked from the cockpit of the R27. I ran a lot today, just like in Barcelona last time out, and that's always a good thing. I think we made good progress, and it was a positive, encouraging day for the rest of the week."

Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer commented, "This was a good first day for the team. We made good progress, without any problems at all, and Nelsinho did exactly the job we wanted from him - without any mistakes at all. We work on the electronic systems, and traction control development; the results were interesting, and we will continue preparations for Monaco tomorrow with Heikki."

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