While Giancarlo Fisichella lapped the Catalunya circuit on his return to Renault yesterday, the Italian racer familiarizing himself with the team and car, regular test driver Franck Montagny was hard at work on Michelin tyre, brake and systems development for the 2005 season.
The young Frenchman is thrilled to be back at work after the brief four week break since the end of the 2004 season and while it isn’t like the tropics temperature wise in Spain, it definitely beats the snow!
“Back to Barcelona! It’s great to be back in Spain and its famous sunny weather after 10 days of poor weather on the other side of the channel,” he said on his official website. “It was snowing when I left Great Britain! Most importantly, I am really and truly delighted to drive with the Renault F1 team again.”
Franck will undertake several testing sessions with the French based squad over the coming weeks, especially as regular driver Fernando Alonso won’t be on hand for all of them. But, there is one thing in particular Franck is looking forward to, and that’s testing in the rain!
“I will run under wet conditions this Saturday at Barcelona then again in Jerez as we have to work on Michelin rain tyres,” he explained. “I like driving in the rain and the days are not that demanding although you spend the whole day in the car. The pressure is to avoid a trip through the gravel!”
;)
