For the final day of testing in Barcelona
With two intensive days of testing ahead of the opening race in two weeks, the Renault F1 Team concluded this week`s programme of running at the Circuit de Catalunya and spent the final day practicing pit-stops and 2006-style qualifying.

Fernando Alonso was the first man to tackle the day`s pit-stop practice. Tyre changes, refuelling and wing changes were all part of the drills that were run through to prepare for Bahrain. After a dozen successful pit-stops, the Spaniard then conducted a qualifying simulation to give the team a first taste of this new challenge for 2006, both in terms of time management and the strategies for managing it.
Giancarlo Fisichella followed an identical programme to his team-mate, with a dozen pit-stops followed by a qualifying simulation during the afternoon.

Fernando Alonso
"We have had an important and productive week. We made good progress for the first race, and now I want to see how we will perform in race conditions against the competition. I am feeling confident, the car is performing well and the team is more motivated than ever.”

Giancarlo Fisichella
"I am pleased with my week. I feel like we have worked well, and made good progress with the car. We have been quick, and I am pleased with my lap-times this week. I now want to go racing again, and start the championship."

Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer
"This was a very important week in terms of the results we obtained. Once again, the cars ran extremely well without any major technical incidents, and the drivers are pleased with the car`s performance. The entire race team was present today for pit-stop practice, which was an important step and went without a hitch. There are two more days of testing at Valencia next week, and then we will have the opportunity to see exactly what we are capable of in race conditions."

Tags: grand-prix,