The World Champion Renault F1 Team began a two-day test program at the Valencia circuit today, the French based squad’s final session before leaving for Bahrain at the end of the week for the start of the 2006 season. Heikki Kovalainen, the team's third driver, was in action with a single R26 chassis, the young Finn finishing fourth overall for the day.

The objective today was to cover a race distance and continue tyre development, however, the team suffered mechanical problems with the car at lunchtime, which cost valuable track time. Heikki was able to run several more laps at the end of the day to check the systems were working correctly, in preparation for tomorrow's work – which the team hopes will be a more productive day.

"It was a tough day for us because of the mechanical problems: we fixed them, but our programme was disrupted because of it,” explained Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer. “However, the main thing for us is to be ready for Bahrain, and finding and solving these problems is very important for our preparation. Heikki had a very good day, and didn't make any mistakes in spite of difficult circuit conditions. We didn't do many laps, which makes it difficult for the driver to find his rhythm. But this means tomorrow will definitely be a very busy day!"

Renault