Parente completes Renault test at Jerez

The Portuguese took the track in last year's R27 car, completing 64 laps in what was his first taste of Formula One machinery.

He set a best time of 1:21.721.

Parente was delighted after his test and impressed by the Grand Prix car.

"The past few days with the ING Renault F1 Team have been the best possible way to understand how a title winning team works," said Parente. "Everything was new to me, especially seeing so many people around the car and watching the telemetry! I want to thank everybody in the team, they gave me a fantastic welcome.

"At the wheel, I was most impressed by the speed I could carry through the high-speed sections and the g-forces. I was expecting the braking to be very powerful, and I adapted to this quite quickly.

"I learned something new on every run, the times improved steadily and I tried to give the engineers good feedback.

"It was a fantastic day, with positive results in every sense. I hope I can use the experience to my advantage for the next stage of my career."