First Day On Track At The Australia Grand Prix

General

Total laps: CHA - 0, KOV - 36 (14 FP1 / 22 FP2), TRU - 23

Weather: Grey, cloudy, rain

Min/max track temperature: 19˚/ 23˚

Fastest laps: CHA n/a / KOV 1.30.829 lap 15 FP2 / TRU 1.30.910 lap 18 FP2

25/03/11 Runplan

Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: T128-01

FP1

1230 - 1231: Installation lap

1231 - 1254: System checks / front & rear brake blanking change

1254 - 1332: Run 2, 9 laps

1332 - 1344: Front wing flap change / brake blanking reduction

1344 - 1351: Run 3, 4 laps

1351 - 1636: Baseline setup change: front wing flap, brake balance, ride height

FP2

1636 - 1641: Run 1, 2 laps engine electronics issue

1641 - 1718: Electronics issue resolved

1718 - 1734: Run 2, 9 laps

1734 - 1737: Front wing flap change

1737 - 1752: Run 3, 8 laps (DRS in race mode)

1752 - 1758: Fuel change

1758 - 1800: Run 4, 3 laps (Safety car mode test)

Karun Chandhok (FP1) / Jarno Trulli (FP2)

Chassis: T128-03

FP1 (Karun Chandhok)

1230 - 1231: Installation lap / accident T3

FP2 (Jarno Trulli)

1643 - 1656: Run 1, 7 laps

1656 - 1723: Setup change - ride height, front wing flap

1723 - 1736: Run 2, 7 laps

1736 - 1741: Front wing flap change

1741 - 1751: Run 3, 6 laps (DRS in race mode test)

1751 - 1756: Fuel level change

1756 - 1800: Run 4, 3 laps (Safety car mode test)

Karun Chandhok: "I'm obviously disappointed to have had such a short run for my first time in the Team Lotus car, but I put my hands up to it and totally accept it was a combination of a slippery track and less grip than I expected from the tyres that combined to put me out so early. I'm just pleased the guys could get Jarno out in the afternoon session and it shows what a great team this is that they could get the car fixed that quickly to ensure Jarno could get a decent number of laps under his belt in FP2."

Heikki Kovalainen: "It was one of those days. We had a couple of problems the guys worked hard to resolve, and once we had got through the issues we managed to complete most of the program so we have some good data to work through tonight. There is obviously more pace to come from the car so let's see what happens tomorrow."

Jarno Trulli: "The team worked really well to get the car ready for the afternoon session but we struggled a bit with a few issues that meant I couldn't really push. We'll work tonight on setup options and there are definitely some areas to look at where we can find some pace so I think tomorrow we'll be ok."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "Engine wise it was quite a good day because we managed to carry out a number of tests we had not completed in the pre-season running. We have had some positive feedback from the drivers from those tests, for example with the blown-floor strategy, so this has been a pretty encouraging day for us."

Mike Gascoyne: "A difficult first day in Australia, although we managed to complete some good work at the end of FP2. At the start of FP1 Karun was caught out by the slippery conditions and made a mistake which unfortunately curtailed his running. In the second session we had a fuel pressure problem on Jarno's car and an electronics issue on Heikki's car, both of which limited our running, but we were able to solve those issues and work through most of the afternoon's plan. For tomorrow there is a lot more to come from the car. We are clearly not quite where we expected to be in performance terms but we understand the reasons for that - it is proving quite tricky for us to get the best out of the tyres but we will work on that tonight and when we improve I am confident we will move up to where we expect to be in qualifying tomorrow."

Tony Fernandes: "It is good to be back racing and very satisfying to see our green and yellow vision coming together on and off the track. It was one of those days that are not so good for us but this is a continuous journey and while we have work to do I'm confident we are moving in the right direction for the year ahead. It is a real mark of where we are now that the comments from the rest of the team are expressing disappointment with today. As a Team Principal it is actually very pleasing to hear that a performance that a year ago we would have been thrilled about is now being seen as us not meeting our targets, and that shows us all just how far we have already come. The team may not see it right now but this is huge progress, so I am happy and looking forward to the rest of the weekend."