FP1 & FP2 - German GP report: Renault Sport F1

Key practice points:

— Searing temperatures of over 30°C for the opening day of practice at the German Grand Prix. Track temperatures peak at over 50°C
— Renault-powered teams continue to test upgraded software, with positive results concerning engine performance
— Third quickest time for Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo at power circuit Hockenheim

Rémi Taffin, head of track operations:

Today has been a very interesting day from a Power Unit point of view. We ran the latest wave of software across all cars and the improvements have been noticeable in the ICE output power. We were confident that the software would work well after trialing at the Silverstone test and yet again we have seen the results corroborated here today. We also expect a further step tomorrow when we have looked at all the data thoroughly.

Of course the main talking point has been the heat. Both ambient and track temperatures have been higher than we have seen in previous years – in fact the highest of the season so far – but the cooling systems have coped remarkably well. We have used a variety of solutions, including different settings and parts usage and didn’t experience any problems on this front.

Unfortunately the Caterham cars had a couple of issues: with Marcus [Ericsson] there was a drop off in oil pressure in FP2, but this one was tackled very quickly so he was able to run the last third of the session. Equally Kamui Kobayashi’s car developed a fuel leak and with the bodywork being so hot everything ignited very quickly. The team is looking at the damage now – fortunately it was an old engine though – but everyone still needs to look at where the leak came from to prevent it happening again.

Otherwise it has been a busy day, and we look forward to tomorrow when we’ll trial the new fuel from Total on most cars that should give another good step in engine performance.