Renault Drivers Struggle for Pace

The Renault team struggled for pace in opening practice for the United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The French squad, currently in second place in the Constructors' Championship behind Ferrari, endured a disappointing session, with Italian Jarno Trulli being the fastest of their drivers with the 12th quickest time of the day.

"I had a difficult day today," admitted Trulli, who was over two seconds off the pace. "Obviously, we concentrated on tyre testing as normal, plus a little bit of set-up work, but at this stage we do not seem to be competitive.

"The circuit was very slippery, which means the car has very little grip, and we haven't yet found a good balance."

Spanish teammate Fernando Alonso also had a difficult day and only managed the 20th fastest time, 3.3 seconds behind pace setter Rubens Barrichello.

"It was a very difficult opening day from my point of view," said Alonso. "The car had very low grip this morning, then I made a mistake early in the second session: the rear of the car was quite nervous, and I lost control under braking for Turn 11.

"At the moment, we are not in very good shape, and there is a lot of work to do this evening to try and catch up the time we have lost today."