ING Renault F1 Team Fan Site

Following the launch of the R28 in Paris yesterday, the team are now in Barcelona for the third winter test of the season.

Fernando and Nelson flew in from Paris last night, but the rest of the team arrived earlier in the week to set up the garages and motorhome. Most of the team have been in Spain since the middle of January, following the car wherever it goes and tending to its every need – it’s the life of an F1 mechanic.

And what about the launch? Well, a very important day for the team and a successful day. With 600 members of the media in attendance, there was plenty of excitement and plenty of people to talk to. Of course, Flavio and the drivers (Fernando, Nelson, Lucas and Roain) were in great demand and were on fine form – happily chatting about their hopes for the season ahead. These days a driver needs to be just as good out of the car as he in it – talking to the media is important and all the Renault F1 drivers do a super job. The photographers also got their chance to capture their images for the year and everyone enjoyed inspecting the R28 as it sparkled on stage – the star of the show, of course.

There was also the opportunity for the journalists to chat with the technical masters, Bob Bell and Rob White, who have presided over the new car. They are proud of their new creation and were keen to impart their enthusiasm to the media.

But, back here in Barcelona, it’s straight down to business. There’s already action out on the track, and the sound of those V8 fills the crisp winter air. It’s perhaps the most important test session so far because for the first time this year the team are running two cars. Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet are the men doing the driving today, tasked with continuing the intensive development programme.

Running in tandem will generate lots of data and there will be plenty of work for all the team as they try to perfect the R28. Fernando and Nelson will begin with basic set up work to improve the balance of the car, while Nelson will spend the afternoon running a race distance. So a busy day ahead!

Hi, RF1PP, the new R28 is said to be using the RS27, is that correct, it was not re-badge RS28? Also in the Red-Bull.

wonderful launch, beautiful cars and pretty boys....
I'm almost crazy to see Lucas there...lol
so tell me PF1PP, who will be the other RDD drivers?

Ferrari have stuck with the 056 badge on their engine, BMW will probably stick to the P86/7 badge, and all this is because the engine development is completely frozen now. So why give an engine a new name, when it's basically the same piece of equipment?

Good luck to the Renault F1 boys. Hope it will be a productive first day, no flaws, no problems just smiles and lots of fun. Also i really hope to see the all new R28 up on the time sheets.This weeks programme i suppose it's focused on set-ups and finding the limits right? Best of luck !

Cant wait... to see our boys in action again. Alonso has brought back smiles in the camp. Good Luck Renault & Fernando Alonso.

It�s still really cold in Barcelona but everything runs smoothly� The laptimes at midday:

1 HAM 1�22.433 21
2 FIS 1�23.015 39
3 ALO 1�23.125 31
4 KUB 1�23.266 22
5 ROS 1�23.453 12
6 WEB 1�23.657 20
7 COU 1�23.668 19
8 HEI 1�23.718 11
9 PAF 1�23.827 16
10 NAK 1�23.955 35
11 PIQ 1�24.046 20
12 VET 1�24.227 27
13 BAR 1�24.794 11
14 WUR � 1

Old friend Fisico in second place for now... Less than 1 second between Magic & Ham!

Thanks for the times, but I'm sure we can't read much into those, give it a bit more time.

Good times with Giancarlo with FI in 2nd and Fernando 3rd!

Nice to see two R28 testing,and Good luck to all @ RF1,

Relative times in testing is never really representative anyway; but hardly representative at all when Ferrari aren't in the fold, as they are probably still significantly faster than McLaren.

All right. Will they beat Michaels time from cold November ? 1.21.044

Ops. I did not write that 3 times.

update times

UPDATED TIMES

13:00
1. Hamilton 1:22.433 31
2. Alonso 1:22:889 47
3. Fisichella 1:23.015 51
4. Kubica 1:23.266 32
5. Rosberg 1:23.453 21
6. Webber 1:23.657 22
7. Coulthard 1:23.668 25
8. Heidfeld 1:23.718 13
9. Paffet 1:23.772 20
10. Bourdais 1:23.920 25
11. Nakajima 1:23.955 35
12. Piquet 1:24.046 24
13. Vettel 1:24.227 36
14. Barrichello 1:24.794 12
15. Wurz 1:27.807 6

Looks like a big shunt for Williams Nakajima . They are rumoured to test again only tomorrow after checking out the car .

For now it looks good for Renault ... happy to see some good pace .

I see that post multiplyer bug is back again

Ops. I did not write that 3 times.

piquet is 12th!!!!.cant believe.what might be the reason??

@ 26, he's a rookie.

Thanks for the pics !

Love the pics!!

@RF1PP - Is it the race team at the track or the Test team?

@manustudio
well i know he is a rookie.but i thought he will be just behind alonso in timesheets.

kashanRf1: Maybe because it's testing and not race weekend yet?

kashanRf1, we've been told that they are not running the same program (that would be useless). On the FR blog, it is further mentioned that Fernando will start looking for performance while NP will run a race sim.

Ops. I did not write that 3 times.

Every time I refresh this page, my earlier message appears in the blog as new one...

scenic
hmm.fine.
musicman.
even i hope that he will be good during race weekend.well i said seeing his testing times now i was little surprised as there was 1.5 seconds difference in lap times of FA and NP.so i asked that question.

Oh, Alonso looks not happy...
http://images.gpupdate.net/large/91651.j ...

A stormy face indeed
Hope that performance is found soon so we can see a happy face again

Again...

http://photofile.ru/photo/dan_ivanoff/31 ...

Red Flag for Piquet Jr. What's wrong ?

One question, From the R26 what engine spec. was the homologation used?

Red Flag for Piquet Jr. What's wrong ?

1. L. Hamilton McLaren MP4-23 1:22.263 69
2. F. Alonso Renault R28 1:22.889 +0.626 61
3. R. Kubica BMW Sauber F1.08 1:22.983 +0.720 53
4. G. Fisichella Force India F8-VII 1:23.015 +0.752 52
5. N. Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1.08 1:23.270 +1.007 39
6. S. Vettel Toro Rosso STR2 1:23.387 +1.124 72
7. N. Rosberg Williams FW30 1:23.453 +1.190 12
8. D. Coulthard Red Bull Racing RB4 1:23.491 +1.228 45
9. M. Webber Red Bull Racing RB4 1:23.547 +1.284 43
10. G. Paffett McLaren MP4-23 1:23.769 +1.506 30
11. N. Piquet Jr. Renault R28 1:23.917 +1.654 37
12. S. Bourdais Toro Rosso STR2 1:23.920 +1.657 49
13. K. Nakajima Williams FW30 1:23.955 +1.692 36
14. R. Barrichello Honda RA108 1:24.125 +1.862 41
15. A. Wurz Honda RA108 1:26.975 +4.712 26

Both R28 has stop on track, was that again planned? any reasons?

Final times!

1. L. Hamilton McLaren MP4-23 1:22.263 84
2. F. Alonso Renault R28 1:22.889 +0.626 61
3. R. Kubica BMW Sauber BMW Sauber F1.08 1:22.983 +0.720 66
4. G. Fisichella Force India India Force F8-VII 1:23.015 +0.752 100
5. N. Heidfeld BMW Sauber BMW Sauber F1.08 1:23.270 +1.007 53
6. G. Paffett McLaren MP4-23 1:23.349 +1.086 47
7. N. Piquet Jr. Piquet Jr. Renault R28 1:23.367 +1.104 46
8. S. Vettel Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR2 1:23.387 +1.124 90
9. N. Rosberg Williams FW30 1:23.453 +1.190 12
10. D. Coulthard Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing RB4 1:23.491 +1.228 45
11. M. Webber Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing RB4 1:23.547 +1.284 43
12. S. Bourdais Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR2 1:23.920 +1.657 49
13. K. Nakajima Williams FW30 1:23.955 +1.692 36
14. R. Barrichello Honda RA108 1:24.125 +1.862 41
15. A. Wurz Honda RA108 1:26.975 +4.712 26

Alonso's time seems encouraging but again, we don't know the conditions of the one realised by Hamilton. From Nelson i don't expect to much for the moment, it's just his 2nd time with the new R28. He needs time to get it together. What's that i heard that both R28 stopped on track? More info pls.I really hope it was on pourpose and not a glitch.

Hopefully they ran out of fuel ?

Both.

What about the stopping on track? any news?

till now no f1 website said nothing about the renaults halting on the track. maybe we should wait for an official response from the renault team.

Motor 21 site (www.motor21.com) mentions that Renault had several problems, specially in the afternoon. Both cars stopped on the tracks.

I have not heard any more news into it.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php ... The only report is of mechanical problems in Nelsinho's case. Nothing about Fernando's stop.

no, it also talks about Fernando's stop on track at the end of the day. Nelsinho also had multiple glitches causing the red flags ; How about an official statement from the Renault team? I hope that all this were minor problems nothing serious. And it's better to have them now than in a race.

Let's hope that this stopping on the track is nothing too serious - however better that it happens now and everything's sorted rather than at a race weekend (echoing myx4ever's thoughts). As far as Ferni's time was compared to LH - Ferni did fewer laps, so even if he did stop I think +0.6 is encouraging - there's still plenty of testing to go.

By the way did anyone see the report in the Times newspaper (UK)today? - they've started their anti-Alonso campaign already.

in an interview (f1-live.com)C. Silk did not mention anything that can cause panic. He said something about Nelsinho's car but he did not said that it was serious. Anyways, Alonso stated that today was only the first day and the real programmer will start tomorrow. From the two i can conclude that it was a good day afterall, and that the R28 has what it takes. Let's wait for day 2 maybe we can get a better picture of how things really are.

haha, Korrie, yes I read it as soon as it was published online.

Ed Gorman no longer surprises me...but Kevin Garside did at the telegraph...he was a bit more professional in his report, which I appreciated as a rarity!

The most amusing thing is that if you looked through the archives of these 2 guys, you'd see how drastically they change their spin on drivers, especially about Fernando....there was a time they gushed about him...until Jenson or Lewis came close.

Let the English talk, in Malta we say "who laughs last, gets the best laugh".
Go Nando Go

We've got the same saying here in Romania... and hopefully it's going to be true here and the drivers of the R28 will have the last laugh.

I don't understand what was negative in Ed's report? He has simply taken some of the received wisdom from the paddock and woven it into a report. It may not be the report Renault's PR people would choose to produce from a launch, but there is nothing anti-Alonso in his assessment; he has simply taken a skeptical view of proceedings.

It is inevitable that the British press will support their man, I think, but that doesn't make them anti-Alonso. The notion that "if you're not with us, you're against us" is a bit too simplistic for my taste.

re:57, this is not an "interview" on F1 Live, rather quotes from the press release that can be found on the main team site.

Remember that F1 Live never generates its own content, it is simply a dustbin for every piece of content on the web, regardless of truth, and it copies left right and centre. It would do everybody a lot of good if that site disappeared.

just following up 61, remember that the Spanish press are always very extreme pro Alonso too - and often at Renault's expense in the past...

I read on Autosport forum that Fernando stopping on track yesterday was due to a broken gearbox. Was this the same gearbox that was used in Valencia test (and has already completed a 4 race distance) or was it a new gearbox? Or is this maybe confidential information?

"F1 Live never generates its own content, it is simply a dustbin for every piece of content on the web"

ha! brilliant quote

you could say the same about autosport these days though.

they syndicate more and more content from reuters, then spin the rest of the stories out of regurgitated team press releases. if you take away the "paid subscription" option, you're left with a lot of rubbish too.

suggesting f1-live should simply disappear is a bit harsh.

F1-live mostly take their content from a couple of news agencies, one of which I nearly worked for and I'm glad I didn't - nothing to do with their coverage of F1, as that'd just be silly! In general, most of their 'journalism' seems designed for either (bad) tabloids or more commonly places that require news fast and cheap. Money makes the world go round...

I respect places like f1-live are 'wannabe' sites that would struggle if they didn't get a good flow of news pieces coming through from a a third party source, and sound credible enough. Regardless, I don't know if the current alternative is worth them being around at all.

bpl, I hear what you're saying; but I don't expect any less from a british support point of view - that's not really what I'm getting at. Otherwise I'd be complaining about ALL British media! I'm sure it's just as bad in other countries, not least Spain.

Call me a cynic, but Ed's 'skepticism' goes beyond the call of duty over the last one year; and if he were always like that I would accept it, but it's how his slant on things change so drastically form one year to the next. It's almost 'Daily Mail' like (which is a glorified tabloid in my opinion).

It's easy to say, the spanish press are just as bad, if not worse; but I'm not concerned about them, I would just expect more from someone who writes for the Times.

Am I just a naive purist?

Hard as it might be to believe, I really don't have issue with criticism of Alonso, or even a negative spin to make the Brits look good...perfectly understandable, no matter how much I dislike it. Maurice Hamilton and Alan Henry and brilliant, and when they do it, it grates me a little, but I respect them a lot. It's just an example of the difference...

Anyway, I'll stop ranting on this. We can agree to disagree bpl...I don't think anyone wants me to sit and dissect that article to prove my point!

I'm a bit too passionate for my own good...I realise that.

oo err...look at the Toro Rossos:

http://www.f1today.nl/live-update/2008/0 ...

My boy Vettel continues to impress me...be it only testing just now.

Well, the level is quite high here ! Thanks to you I hope to improve my English... which is definitely mandatory if I want to take part to such debates.

FYI, times at the break are available from the corresponding FR thread (post 463 by RF1PP @13h08).

"F1-live mostly take their content from a couple of news agencies"

let us not forget though that it was the people behind f1-live that prevented bernie from securing the trademark to the abbreviation "F1" earlier this year.

no-one is claiming that they did it for altruistic reasons of course.

ironically that particular story was one of those reported by reuters and then syndicated word-for-word by autosport.

original: http://uk.reuters.com/article/UK_MOTORSP ...

copy: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php ...

don't get me autosport do some good things (the annual NEC show for example), but they're just as bad as many other sites in a lot of respects (and in some cases worse).

oops, typing problems this morning:

"...abbreviation "F1" earlier LAST year."

and

"don't get me WRONG, but autosport do some..."

get i get a bigger message box please??

no, you're absolutely right sidepodcast; I quite agree that Autosport are no longer much better with their reliance on reuters...but if we're talking about Reuters, then that takes out most of global media that relies on them too! That's what they are there for of course, but I prefer to see a balance in Autosport with it being highly specific to motorsports.

I'm very conscious this debate is in the wrong place!

Although, I think we can agree, we need the preview option back again on posting!!

"I'm very conscious this debate is in the wrong place!"

bpl started it

Day two here in Barcelona and it�s still a very chilly. Heavy coats are out in force. The cold weather is not unexpected as Barcelona in February is not a renowned hotspot for sun worshippers. But the main thing is that the track is dry, even if it is still not in ideal condition. That means Fernando will continue with general set-up work this, and run some new pieces later when the track has improved a bit.

The team were hard at work all night preparing for today�s activities. In these early tests, every moment on track is precious, and everything needs to be ready to role as soon as the track opens at 10:00.

Nelson will make the most of his time in the car to familiarise himself with different procedures: starts, pit-stops, and formation laps. All these things have to be carried out and a test session is the perfect time to do this.

Nelson has also been practicing getting out of the car in the time limit as specified by the regulations (in case of an emergency, drivers need to get out of their car in no less than 10 seconds, with their steering wheel back in its place). It�s sort of an exam � an easy one, but he still needs to have some rehearsals; passing this test will be a requirement for his participation in Melbourne.

Here are the times so far:

1 VET 1�21:679 37
2 BOU 1�21:782 49
3 HAM 1�22:387 54
4 KOV 1�22:616 38
5 KUB 1�22:833 49
6 ALO 1�23:001 65
7 PIQ 1�23:002 64
8 WEB 1�23:020 54
9 HEI 1�23:070 41
10 COU 1�23:322 52
11 ROS 1�23:951 15
12 BUT 1�23:970 27
13 LIU 1�23:284 35

1. S. Vettel Toro Rosso STR2 1:21.679 50 pit
2. S. Bourdais Toro Rosso STR2 1:21.782 +0.103 72 pit
3. L. Hamilton McLaren MP4-23 1:22.135 +0.456 75 pit
4. H. Kovalainen McLaren MP4-23 1:22.616 +0.93 7 46 pit
5. R. Kubica BMW Sauber F1.08 1:22.833 +1.154 60 pit
6. F. Alonso Renault R28 1:22.938 +1.259 83 pit
7. N. Piquet Jr. Renault R28 1:23.002 +1.323 81 pit
8. M. Webber Red Bull Racing RB4 1:23.020 +1.341 62 pit
9. N. Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1.08 1:23.070 +1.391 52 pit
10. D. Coulthard Red Bull Racing RB4 1:23.322 +1.643 52 pit
11. N. Rosberg Williams FW30 1:23.780 +2.101 23 pit
12. J. Button Honda RA108 1:23.969 +2.290 43 pit
13. K. Nakajima Williams FW30 1:24.122 +2.443 1 1 pit
14. V. Liuzzi Force India F8-VII 1:24.284 +2.605 36 pit

at 15:30 ; I really hope to see some improvements with the R28's...

Well I guess we should have half expected 'Ferraris' to be topping the timesheets in one form or another!

Seems quite ok for the moment.

1. S. Vettel Toro Rosso STR2 1:21.679 89 pit
2. S. Bourdais Toro Rosso STR2 1:21.782 +0.103 88 pit
3. L. Hamilton McLaren MP4-23 1:22.135 +0.456 80 pit
4. H. Kovalainen McLaren MP4-23 1:22.511 +0.83 2 70 pit
5. R. Kubica BMW Sauber F1.08 1:22.833 +1.154 90 pit
6. F. Alonso Renault R28 1:22.938 +1.259 115 pit
7. N. Piquet Jr. Renault R28 1:23.002 +1.323 115 pit

That's it for today. Well judging by the number of laps done by both drivers i think that today was not about finding the limits. After today i guess that the team has found the right balance of the car and a good setup and maybe they can attack more tomorrow. Nice going guys !

Here the laptimes at the end of the session:

1 VET 1'21.679 89
2 BOU 1'21.782 88
3 HAM 1'22.135 80
4 KOV 1'22.511 70
5 KUB 1'22.833 90
6 ALO 1'22.938 115
7 PIQ 1'23.002 115
8 HEI 1'23.014 75
9 WEB 1'23.020 94
10 COU 1'23.322 85
11 ROS 1'23.347 34
12 NAK 1'23.948 40
13 BUT 1'23.959 58
14 LIU 1'24.263 61

It seems that the Toro Rosso did their laptimes this morning during a qualifying simulation.

Lots of laps for us, on both cars, which means lots of data to go through tonight!

purely circumstantial. The STRs were clearly simulating quali runs, and our boys have put in a lot of miles today.

Nonetheless, I hope performance improvement is rapid...

yeah, the STR's were simulating quali laps. I am really interested in the approach the Renaults are taking...Nando said yesterday that the real programme will start today. I was hoping to see some R28 muscle instead they're taking it slowly, long runs, lot's of data, setups and balance. Guys you know better, do whatever it takes to bring the R28 in front of the pack.

Really happy till now with results obtained. Hope we can see some more progress by tomorrow

Hello all, nice to be back @ home

Let-s make some nerves on McLatas and Ferraris, specially ,mr Haimilton and family.
Good work those days, let-s keep pushing to get to times, and therefore winning GP-s.
2008 will be a Renault one.

Saludetes

Hello all, nice to be back @ home

Hi All.
Fraggle, Amc , Switch, Manustudio , Greenpe...
I want to send you messages and add to all to my friends but I have problems with the web , every time I try to send a message, or add a friend or chat . the iexplorer give me an error.
Someone more have the sames problems?
Saludos

Hello all, nice to be back @ home

Nice to have you back JR and Greenpe...

I got your message JR, thank you. The new site is looking great, but like anything brand new, it will having some teething problems. Different people are experiencing different problems that others might not, so just give it some time and I'm sure rf1pp's lot are sorting it out.

I think I had some questions but after another very clarifying podcast and words of wisdom from Flav (a true master of English language, close to Wordsworth and Coleridge in that respect) and Pat I guess I feel quite satisfied with all that precious info, 115 laps each, not bad. Cheers.

i was expecting renault at front but it seems the team wants reliability,,, why dont they do a good run to show where we are?
is r28 a championship contender?
i hope so
fernando will give it all to win i bet
but i dont understand why they test only setups....

@ 89:

If you see what is happening, 4 teams with the most recent new cars are all taking their time to find their feet. Everyone expected BMW to be spectacular, but they haven't been because they are teething out initial problems with the new car. Likewise, Williams had a great first two days of testig the new car, but have gone as far as abandon the barcelona test because they have serious problems that have emerged on the new car. Honda are struggling, but I have no doubt they will be better than last year, only it will take time to get over initial problems.

Just like this, Renault must find their feet with the R28; particularly because it is not a simple evolution of the R27 - compared to Ferrari, McLaren and even STR all building onto their 2007 cars, thus with smoother development.

If by Melbourne we are still lagging by the same margin as now, I will concede the possibility of a realistic fight for the title. For now though, we must give Renault time to realise the R28 into a good car before it can become a great car.

Earlier, before the first shakedown of the new R28 B. Bell was quoted saying the new R28 is faster by 1.6s/lap than the R27 (computer simulations). Well i will be more than happy to be just 0.8s faster ...last year R27 lacked some 1.0-1.2s /lap. This year, if the R28 gained just 0.8s + Nandos at least 0.2s/lap than we have ourself a champ car. Like amc, i will let the team work they're magic. I have confidence and hope. Yet again, i wanna see some R28 muscle by the time we get to Melbourne. McLaren and Ferrari should eat our dust...

Final day here in Barcelona and there�s still plenty of excitement in the air. With it being a weekend test, there have been a lot of fans here to watch the action, although the crowds don�t seem as big as they were in Valencia last week.

Again the circuit is chilly and the sun has yet to make an appearance at this test. That means the track conditions have not been great, but the team has still been able to continue with basic set-up work and improve the balance of the car. Having two cars here has allowed the team to gather plenty of data, which the engineers have been poring over all night.

Yesterday Nelson enjoyed a full day in the car, covering 115 laps, almost two race distances. He�s feeling at home in the R28 and relishing being a race driver. He took the opportunity to try out some race procedures yesterday, especially pit stops and starts because the removal of traction control has made things very different this year.

For today, Nelson will be running the usual programme of set-up work this morning, before trying a race distance in the afternoon. But it did rain overnight here, so the track will be green, and the programme may have to be adapted accordingly.

Fernando will continue with more set-up work, then try some brake testing later in the day. The track conditions will dictate what can be achieved; it�s about improvising and thinking on your feet.

Fernando has been in good sprits at this test. Happy and relaxed as he goes about his business. As Pat Symonds has pointed out, he has a spring in his step, and with the adoration of the Spanish fans, he feels really motivated. And he always shows his appreciation for their support � a quick wave when he exits the pits is enough to cause hysteria in the grandstand.

re: 91, Bob Bell has NEVER said that the new car was 1.6s/lap faster.

This quote came from a guy called Isaac Prada, who used to work at Enstone until about 18 months ago. He was a student engineer, and the kind of comment he made shows this. Nobody senior in the team would ever be caught making such a foolish prediction!

As for making McLaren and Ferrari eat our dust, your 'calculations' assume that they have not made any progress themselves... As Renault fans, I would just advise you to wait, be calm, trust the team to do its job and wait for Melbourne. Catching the top two teams would be a massive, almost unprecedented achievement; getting close would already be hugely creditable...

re 93 well said mate but we all hope for more this year than just getting close to the top teams.

re 93: thanks for straighten things up. Those were not calculations...just a glance of what things could look like. In the end everybody wants to win so i'm sure everyone in the team is giving 100% to achieve this goal. As for the unprecedented achievement, the Ferraris came from an disastrous 2005 to almost win in 2006 and we shouldn't mention the mclarens who in 2006 didn't even come close to winning in 2006 to ...well you know. I hope Alonso can bring that special ingredient to make R28 a winning car.

because of the removal of traction control things very different, do you think that will make things harder during pit stops for some drivers? Do you see pitstops being more dangerous?

At last the sun has emerged. The chill remains, but hopefully we will be in for a warmer afternoon. Here are the times so far:

1. WEB 1'22.385 45
2. KOV 1'22.422 29
3. HAM 1'22.491 28
4. KUB 1'22.492 29
5. ALO 1'22.509 37
6. HEI 1'22.874 34
7. BOU 1'22.877 20
8. COU 1'22.889 30
9. PIQ 1'23.039 30
10. VET 1'23.232 30
11. BUT 1'23.822 31
12. SUT 1'23.996 50
13. BAR 1'24.484 27

The removal of TC is not likely to make pitstops more dangerous. It's just that with the new electronics the driver needs to adapt and get used to a new way of doing things.

To be honest i doubt renault will be a championship winning car this season i hope we win a couple but if we end up with around the same amount of points as bmw did last season then i will be happy. Hope it is a championship winning car tho

well, I wouldn't set my sights that low (no offence to BMW who are clearly going to be a force again), but I'm hoping Fernando can bring an extra something.

I don't think I have set expectations but if Renault can come a close enough 3rd in the WCC, pulling away from 4th like BMW did last year, I'll be content and satisfied to the point of accepting reality.

However, if Fernando can get to 3rd in the WDC, I'll hail it as a mini miracle and be extremely impressed. Realistically though, I can only see 5th overall for now.

There's still a long way to go though, even just to Melbourne - and a season is long (not long enough in my opinion!). I still say, give it time and don't get disheartened every time we look at test time sheets. We know we shouldn't be taking them at face value...

what do you mean by brake testing??

ok, at the risk of making this blog feel a little uncomfortable, and that it really has absolutely nothing to do with Renault, it does relate indirectly to fans of Fernando:

Can I just say that I find all this taunting against McLaren and Lewis rather disturbing, albeit I'm sure from a minority of the tens of thousands visiting Barcelona testing - and I'm quite saddened by it.

I am first and foremost a fan of the sport, and one of the reasons I've warmed to it so much is that there has always been a decent air of respect, and little or none of the football-like hooliganism we get around the world (not least of all in Europe).

I think it's awful, unecessary, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Let Lewis have his occasional jibes; but he nor McLaren deserve what they have been getting.

It's almost part of all the entertainment of the sport, the amusing part of human drama when teams and drivers have little niggles at each other. F1 wouldn't be the same without!

So I'm sure I can safely say on behalf of most supporters of Fernando that no matter how much we're narked off by events of last year, we'll never share any sentiment of nasty abuse thrown in any direction.

The real shame in all of this, aside from the sport being muddied a little bit, is unfortunately the press and subsequently more of the public will turn on Fernando because of this, despite his attempts to calm things down and express his dislike of the Spanish press taking things to extreme at times.

@amc
Hear hear
This Fernando fan in no way condones what's going on in Barcelona, unfortunately I cannot say that I am particularly surprised...
We Fernando fans should show that we can rise above LH's silly statements and not sink to his level.
I cannot say that I would look forward to Fernando receiving the same treatment at Silverstone from a bunch of renegade Hamilton fans but it could come to that if people don't calm down a bit - the season hasn't even started yet!

Anyway best of luck to all at Renault in testing today.

Coming up to 1500 here in Barcelona and just over two hours of action remaining. Here's how things stand:

1. WEB 1'22.385 61
2. KOV 1'22.422 51
3. HAM 1'22.459 58
4. KUB 1'22.492 54
5. ALO 1'22.509 56
6. HEI 1'22.874 51
7. BOU 1'22.877 51
8. COU 1'22.889 48
9. PIQ 1'23.039 60
10. VET 1'23.232 41
11. BAR 1'23.795 52
12. SUT 1'23.800 78
13. BUT 1'23.808 60

agreed @Korrie and @amc.

a little bit of light humour never goes astray, but the reports coming out of the test suggest it's not funny anymore.

the natural progression from this would be banning fans from testing, and that would be a massive shame.

...between Webber and Button just 1.5 sec...

and i guess testing is official y over now that the rain started.

Indeed, and there's only one man who's going to have to answer for this sadly, when he's got nothing to answer for. It's no surprise he gets so frustrated in public.

I wouldn't blame them if the next spanish tests refuse spectator entry.

As for the tests, it does seem to be taking the normal course of reducing time differences, no matter how insignificant. So plently to still be hopeful for.

just a question:

has it ever snowed in recent times or ever during a test? I know it was pretty cold last year, but just wondered.

@ 107 - I still see a few cars out there. I don't know about Renault though.

they're already packing the box. this concludes the barcelona test.
The times for the 3rd day :
1. M. Webber Red Bull Racing RB4 1:22.385 61 pit
2. H. Kovalainen McLaren MP4-23 1:22.422 +0.03 7 66 pit
3. L. Hamilton McLaren MP4-23 1:22.459 +0.074 75 pit
4. R. Kubica BMW Sauber F1.08 1:22.492 +0.107 64 pit
5. F. Alonso Renault R28 1:22.509 +0.124 62 pit
6. N. Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1.08 1:22.874 +0.489 58 pit
7. S. Bourdais Toro Rosso STR2 1:22.877 +0.492 64 pit
8. D. Coulthard Red Bull Racing RB4 1:22.889 +0.504 67 pit
9. N. Piquet Jr. Renault R28 1:23.039 +0.654 64 pit
10. S. Vettel Toro Rosso STR2 1:23.232 +0.847 52 pit
11. R. Barrichello Honda RA108 1:23.795 +1.410 65 pit
12. A. Sutil Force India F8-VII 1:23.800 +1.415 86 pit
13. J. Button Honda RA108 1:23.808 +1.423 67 pit

Today the Renault boys only managed 62/64 laps. I think the rain really messed up the plans but all in all it was a good test session. The team gathered a lot of data to be analised and maybe for the next test they'll prepare a new aero package. Waiting though the press release..

@amc(102) & korrie(103)
What a few fans did at the testing is certainly not the right thing to do. However, amc, "hooliganism" in formula 1 circuits is far from being unheard of. It may not be as violent as in football however. When "our Nige" was around a few of his followers behaved much more like a bunch of "Lager Louts" than the civilized group of motor racing lovers that you crave for. I do remember very well a reader�s letter to Autosport, in the early 90s, from a young lady who happenned to be a fan of Michael Schumacher and had endured "unnice words" from a group of Nigel's fans.

Hi all, nice work today, even the weather has not make a break. Keep working to make the trick at Melbourne, nothing like Ron's face in that moment with first Renault win... a dream, OK, but it would be just... beatiful.

About Mclaren and spanish people, I just don't support any personal o racial insult to them. But it's true that Mclaren have destroy any opportunty of having respect from spanish people, since last year events. People is not going to forgive, not even forget, how Mcs treated Fernando.
So if they're not loved in Spain, is just their problem.

Saludetes

Almost forget

There's a bug on the Site, so people from Spain cannot access here, at least with Firefox and http://my.ing-renaultf1.com/es
I could access here cleaning cookies, cache, sessions and with the URL http://my.ing-renaultf1.com/en/

@112; sure, but it would have been nice to have have moved on a decade or two on.

Look, I'm not in any way being naive to the fact there is underlying nastiness and real hatred, which doesn't present itself very often. You can't control how people think or feel, but there is a far sight difference between people being so and it becoming an active part of a sport. The last 3 days have been very active, and while a minority, it's getting enough attention to create more friction between parties - none of which are the real teams or drivers...but that's never the case anyway.

This sport costs billions of dollars, and I'd hope that as soon as something like this is seen, measures are taken to stamp it out quickly, and isolate those sorts of fans from the sport. Perhaps its not practically possible, but I live in hope.

@par amc,
yes, it did snow during testing in Barca, last year or two years ago I'm not sure. I saw your question, I spent 30 min in my archives looking for the picture showing thin layer of snow around the R25 (or R26) and the mechanics around the car, but no luck :P

@amc(102) & korrie(103)
As a Spanish follower of Fernando, I can tell you that many of my fellow countrymen perceived that the way Fernando was treated last year came out of contempt.
Those actions were not right, but we have to understand the reasons for the anger though.

Rain arrived late in the day here in Barcelona, bringing an early end to the day's acitivities. Nonetheless, the team have racked up three good days of running and achieved its goals for the test.

Here are the times at the end of the day:

1. WEB 1'22.385
2. KOV 1'22.422
3. HAM 1'22.459
4. KUB 1'22.492
5. ALO 1'22.509
6. HEI 1'22.847
7. BOU 1'22.877
8. COU 1'22.889
9. PIQ 1'23.039
10. VET 1'23.232
11. BAR 1'23.795
12. SUT 1'23.800
13. BUT 1'23.808

@116...lol thank you anyway. If you do find the picture, please do put it up on the gallery here, as it's not something you see very often!

wow, the top 5 are so close, its gonna be interesting. How many laps did Renault do today?

@117
I can totally understand the Spanish fans' anger - it was pretty hard being a Brit Fernando fan last year as we had gloating non-stop press coverage of LH rammed down our throats most of the time. Especially annoying was the way the majority of the Brit press turned against Fernando because they needed a 'baddie' with the retirement of Schumacher.

As I said before, I just hope this doesn't get out of hand and we start seeing silly things happening at Silverstone against Fernando & Renault.

Anyway, I wonder how McLaren's Spanish sponsors are feeling about this...

I can tell my salary is no more in Santander hands

Big sorries! Messages kept in the form while refreshing!

When will the Renault team test again? when and where? Most probably it'll be Bahrein but when? next week?