Alonso hands over to Piquet

The ING Renault F1 Team was back on track today at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in the South of Spain where Fernando Alonso completed his very last day of testing before the Australian Grand Prix.

Sunny weather and track temperatures of around 35°C allowed the team to maximize track time today. The team’s program focused on aerodynamics, and it was able to validate the latest developments that it will take to Melbourne for the first race of the season.

Nelson Piquet will be behind the wheel of the R29 tomorrow, Tuesday, for what will be the team’s very last day of winter testing.

Fernando Alonso: I am very satisfied with my day. By completing 100 laps, we achieved the objectives we set for ourselves. It was also the first day where we had track conditions at such high temperatures. Therefore, we were able to record quite a lot of useful data for the upcoming races. I am a bit sad to say goodbye to the testing team, but I will see them soon at the factory. I would like to thank them for all the work they did this winter because we are well prepared for this new season. We can head to Australia knowing that we have maximized all the time we had at our disposal.

Christian Silk – Chief Test Engineer: « It was a good day’s work and we completed our program. The good weather conditions and the warmth helped us prepare well for Melbourne. Overall, we are satisfied with the results obtained. I thank Fernando for his excellent work this winter: he is a very good test driver. He worked hard throughout this off-season and we are well prepared for the start of the 2009 season. »

According to a press release from the Renault F1 Team