“Today was a very productive start to the test with over a hundred laps without any mechanical issues, which was very positive considering we were running the seamless shift box for the first time at a circuit test,” test and race engineer Dominic Harlow said. “Tonio also completed some work on the new aero package raced in Hockenheim and the suspension updates.
“In the afternoon we did some longer runs to complete some work on reliability and overall it was a very encouraging start to the test. Tomorrow we will continue with Tonio, when we will push on with the seamless shift testing and also do some work with the slick
Bridgestone tyres that will be introduced in 2009.'
Fresh from his podium finish at the weekend in Germany, Nelson Piquet completed a busy day of running for
Renault and ended the day with the ninth fastest time. The young Brazilian worked on set-up and balance in the R28 during the morning before his focus turned to testing suspension developments and brakes during the afternoon.
“It was very hot on the track today, especially in the afternoon, which made it difficult to get a great balance with the car,” he said. “The hot temperatures also meant that the tyres did not last too long. But we were still able to do some set-up work this morning and tried out some new things on the car, which went well. We now have lots of information that we will go over this evening so that we can maximise tomorrow.”
Christian Klien completed the ten runners on track for the
BMW Sauber squad, which reverted to working on development of the
F1.08 following its aborted testing of the new KERS system yesterday. The Austrian worked on mechanical and aerodynamic solutions for the Hungarian GP and also helped engineers to collect more valuable data on the standard ECU.
