By Renault F1
March 28 2007

After a troubled first day of testing yesterday with Nelson, Heikki took over driving duties at the wheel of the R27 to continue the ING Renault F1 Team’s development programme in Sepang. With just ten days to go before the second race of the season



More testing in the sweltering Sepang heat!

After a troubled first day of testing yesterday with Nelson, Heikki took over driving duties at the wheel of the R27 to continue the ING Renault F1 Team’s development programme in Sepang. With just ten days to go before the second race of the season, it’s a perfect chance for the young Finn to learn the circuit which will host the second round of the season.

Heikki’s laps this morning where his first ever at Sepang, as he also acclimatised to driving in the extreme local temperatures. Air temperatures were over 35°C with humidity of nearly 75%, both higher than anything encountered in testing so far. His day saw him initially concentrating on car set-up, while also practicing pit-stops and pit procedures.

After covering a total of 81 laps, Heikki had made good progress with his technical programme, without encountering any major technical problems. He set ninth-fastest time in 1:36.578, and will continue with his encouraging progress tomorrow. He was pleased with the results of his opening day’s work: ““This was a pretty positive first day for me. It is great fun driving here. The conditions are incredibly hot, but the track was really enjoyable to drive. I felt comfortable straight away, was able to push hard and the times were consistent. The balance of the car was pretty good, and we did some interesting tests. We learned a lot today, and we will try and build on that tomorrow.”


Sepang - Malaysia 28 March 2007
Pos. Driver Team Tires Time Laps
1 K. Räikkönen Ferrari Bridgestone 01:35.268 61
2 A. Wurz Williams Bridgestone 01:35.705 114
3 D. Coulthard Red Bull Bridgestone 01:35.712 87
4 R. Schumacher Toyota Bridgestone 01:35.751 81
5 R. Kubica BMW Bridgestone 01:35.887 111
6 L. Hamilton McLaren Bridgestone 01:36.115 69
7 T. Sato Super Aguri Bridgestone 01:36.306 63
8 R. Barrichello Honda Bridgestone 01:36.563 36
9 H. Kovalainen Renault Bridgestone 01:36.578 86
10 J. Button Honda Bridgestone 01:36.617 24
11 A. Davidson Super Aguri Bridgestone 01:37.876 39
12 S. Speed Scuderia Toro Rosso Bridgestone 01:37.910 36
13 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso Bridgestone 01:37.971 32