We are officially a little over two weeks away from the start of a new F1 season and newcomers Renault are still uncertain of where they stand.
During the final day of pre-season testing in Barcelona, Jolyon Palmer put together a 90-lap run behind the wheel of the RS16, posting a best time of 1:24.859 seconds, good for P8 – not that anybody is particularly excited about keeping track of lap times.
As for the team, they completed 776 laps during both pre-season sessions, which was the equivalent of 3,647 km (2,266 miles), a far more important statistic.
“I was happy to complete 90 laps with a variety of different simulations where I sampled the car on different tires, fuel and set-up combinations. The team is certainly well prepared, and I’m confident of being able to show well for the first race and beyond. We didn’t quite manage all we had planned for today, but that’s the nature of testing. We’re definitely in a good place looking to the start of the season,” said Palmer after testing concluded in Barcelona.
Racing director Fred Vasseur went on to add that “it’s been a strong and productive test for the team, and it’s been great to see the combination of Enstone and Viry reunited and doing what they do best on track. For sure, there have been some minor glitches over the course of the eight days in Barcelona, but that is the nature of testing. The important factors are that we have a good base to work from and a great collection of people working towards the same objective. Both Jolyon and Kevin have been impressive and we all can’t wait to see how the last two week’s work translates once we get on track in Albert Park.”
The Australian Grand Prix will take place in Melbourne on March 20th, and will see Palmer and Magnussen take the field behind the wheel of their brand new factory-owned Renault cars.
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