Renault happy with Petrov’s debut F1 run
Date published : 04 Feb 2010 - 12:14:36
Renault gave its new rookie driver Vitaly Petrov the thumbs-up after he completed a successful first Formula 1 outing on the final day of the Valencia test.The 25-year-old Russian will partner established hotshoe Robert Kubica in the Enstone-based squad this season, and is expected to be very much the junior driver, as Nelson Piquet Jr and Romain Grosjean were alongside Fernando Alonso in 2008-09.But the GP2 graduate acquitted himself well on his initiation to Renault's new R30 car, completing 75 laps and finishing sixth fastest of the seven drivers taking part in Wednesday's session, 1.6s slower than pace-setter Alonso in the Ferrari.This was Vitaly's first day in the R30 and we concentrated on getting him comfortable and familiar with the car, said Renault's chief race engineer Alan Permane.There's a lot for him to get used to in terms of the brakes, power and the extra downforce, but he adapted well and did a good job.Overall our first week with the car has been successful and we've come away with a lot of valuable knowledge about the car.We're now looking forward to building on this work in Jerez next week.Petrov was suitably impressed with his first taste of F1 machinery and felt he had made good progress over the course of the day.I really enjoyed my first day in the car and everything went well, he said.The car is very impressive compared with a GP2 car and I enjoyed experiencing the power and braking performance.After about 30 laps I was starting to feel comfortable and understanding the limits of the car.It was also my first chance to work with my engineers and so far everything is going really well so I'm happy with the day.
