Gascoyne: Friday Testing a Success for Renault

Renault's decision to limit their testing to the Friday morning sessions at Grands Prix has proved a success, the team's technical directory Mike Gascoyne said today.

Renault were among four teams who elected to restrict their testing programme for the 2003 seasons, running for two hours every Friday morning on a Grand Prix weekend, on top of an additional ten days of testing permitted by the FIA.

The new testing format was introduced by the FIA president, Max Mosley, at the end of 2002 in an effort to cut the costs for the smaller teams. Therefore, when Renault decided to switch to the Friday testing format, many in Formula One were surprised, as the team was not seen as lacking funds.

But Gascoyne reveals today the switch, while a gamble, has proved beneficial for the team and in fact saw the French outfit run more testing mileage than before.

"The interesting thing is that we have actually covered more test miles than we had by this time last year," Gascoyne told the Renault F1 website. "The fact we have managed to do that in many fewer days, and at reduced cost, has freed up resources in other areas. Thus we have invested that money in the wind tunnel, or new parts for the car. Overall, we have become a much more efficient operation."

"We have raised our game this season," Gascoyne added. "There is no better reflection of that than the past few races, where we have made steady improvements culminating in the win at Budapest. To make steps like that during a season, you need to be improving quicker than the competition. That is perhaps the best reflection of the gains in efficiency we have made."

Renault drivers Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli will be testing for Renault at Monza this week, where all ten teams are scheduled to run a four-day testing session ahead of the Italian Grand Prix next week.