Renault Sport F1 blows hot and cold in Melbourne

Renault Sport F1 finished halfway at the end of the first day of testing for the Australian Grand Prix. Le Losange obtained very good results with both teams Red Bull who were among the most diligent, Sebastian Vettel having even covered more than 40 laps during the second session. The single-seaters powered by the V6 of Viruses-Châtillon completed a total of 260 laps or 1300km. “The reliability and on-track performance of the Red Bulls during the two sessions really encouraged us”, comments Rémi Taffin, Renault's director of track operations. “Over all the free practice sessions, Daniel (Ricciardo) covered more than the distance of a Grand Prix (64 laps) and Sebastian (Vettel) came close (51 laps). We are also much closer to the intrinsic value of the car, and will still extract performance. This is obviously very positive. Likewise, Team Toro Rosso is the team which covered the most laps during the first tests (57 laps), while showing itself to be competitive. During the second session, the Italian team also drove well, and although we still have work to do in terms of driving flexibility and energy management, we had a good start to the weekend. . »

However, Renault Sport F1's day was far from idyllic since Lotus F1 Team and Caterham completely missed their first day of testing in Melbourne following multiple problems with their cars. ?Caterham and Lotus unfortunately weren't able to cover many laps today. Kamui Kobayashi experienced a problem with the fuel supply system during the first tests, while Marcus Ericsson encountered an electrical problem which required a change of battery and MGU-K (motor kinetic generator). As the 2014 powertrains are equipped with particularly complex advanced technology, these two failures required lengthy repairs. This cost us valuable driving time. During the second session a hydraulic problem affected the car from Marcus and slowed our progress again. Small consolation: although the problems are difficult to resolve, they are easy to identify. Likewise, Lotus encountered various problems which then had repercussions on the different systems that make up the propeller. In particular, it was necessary to change the battery on Pastor's car (Maldonado) as well as the two electric generators. Obviously, the situation is not ideal, especially after the few kilometers covered this winter, but we will work hard with the team to make up for lost time by tomorrow. »

The final free practice session for the Australian Grand Prix will take place from 4 a.m. French time and can be followed live on AUTOhebdo.fr. Discover the photos of the tests on this link.