Renault upbeat after promising start

Nelsinho Piquet was second quickest in the afternoon today, with teammate Fernando Alonso in fourth place.

The French squad's chief of engineering Pat Symonds admitted they were running a light fuel load, but he was still encouraged by their form.

"It was a very productive first day here in Hungary. On this circuit, where qualifying is particularly important, it's no secret that our fuel load was slightly lower than normal, but even so we look competitive," he said.

"Our main focus was to understand the tyres and in particular the effect of graining. All in all it was a successful day for us."

Piquet, who scored the team's first podium of the season in Germany two weeks ago, was also pleased with his day.

"Our free practice programme went well and we have made progress," said Piquet. "The car was reacting well to the different set-up solutions that we tried and so I am quite satisfied with the day's work.

"The track changed a lot during the day and it's quite a demanding place with lots of corners, but I enjoyed driving the circuit and I hope things continue like this tomorrow."

Alonso added: "It was a typical day of practice with a lot of laps covered and lots of data to analyse this evening to be ready for tomorrow.

"Overall we improved the car and we are moving in the right direction. We still have a few things to improve, but if we can make the most of the final free practice session tomorrow morning, we should be able to approach qualifying in good shape."