Formula One news

Renault searching for grip

The Renault is happy with its work following the first two practice sessions of this weekend's opening round of the season in Austrlia. Fernando Alonso rounded the day off in 12th position, with team-mate Piquet struggling in 19th. Both drivers, like the majority of the field, suffered with a lack of grip on the 'green' Albert Park circuit.

"At last, after lots of winter testing, we have started the 2009 season," Alonso said. "We concentrated on the car setup in hot conditions, without being too concerned by what our competitors were doing. We now have lots of valuable information and, as usual, we will go over that this evening. We are missing some grip but we have some ideas about how we can overcome those issues - I'm still confident, and we should deliver a better performance tomorrow."

The Spaniard enjoyed experimenting with the medium and super soft Bridgestone tyre compounds, as the team made changes throughout the session to the R29's suspension and gear ratios. Piquet, on the other hand, did not enjoy such a comfortable day. "That wasn't an easy day," the Brazilian admitted. "I struggled to find a good balance on a track with little grip. However, the settings that we worked on today have still helped us explore some interesting developments for tomorrow and I remain positive."

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