Renault duo play down slow start

Renault's Alonso had a low-key day, setting the seventh fastest time in the morning and 15th in the afternoon, with temperatures cooled by a rain shower before the start of the second session.

His title rival Michael Schumacher was the quickest of the racing driver with the second fastest time of the day behind BMW's test driver Robert Kubica.

"This is quite a short lap, and there seemed to be a lot of traffic out there today," said Alonso. "My timed laps were all compromised a little bit by this, and the conditions were difficult as well with a slippery, low-grip track surface.

"The most important thing, though, was to recognise that the conditions today were quite different to what we expect for the rest of the weekend. So my main goal was to get used to the circuit, and not become confused with set-up.

"The R26 is handling normally, and the situation looks OK at the moment."

Alonso's teammate Giancarlo Fisichella also had a discreet day, finishing down in 11th position.

The Italian too claimed there was no reason to worry.

"This was one of those days when it is hard to work out how our pace compares to that of our rivals: we look quite far down the times, but that is not the real situation I don't think," said Fisichella.

"I had traffic on my quick laps, but the car balance feels stable and we have a first idea of how the tyres are performing.

"We did things a bit differently today because of the rain but we got the usual results from our programme, so everything is looking normal for tomorrow."