JANUARY 23, 2004

Alonso puts R24 fastest

Fernando Alonso went fastest of all the Formula 1 cars in the Barcelona test on Friday afternoon but his time of 1m15.433s is not close to the time set by Jenson Button's BAR-Honda on Thursday and thus has left everyone wondering what fuel load the Renault was carrying...

Fernando Alonso went fastest of all the Formula 1 cars in the Barcelona test on Friday afternoon but his time of 1m15.433s is not close to the time set by Jenson Button's BAR-Honda on Thursday and thus has left everyone wondering what fuel load the Renault was carrying and what fuel loads the fastest cars have been using up to now. Traditionally Williams do not bother with PR stunts in pre-season testing and the team has been setting regular laps in the mid-1m15s in the course of the last week, which suggests that with the fuel taken out the cars would probably be able to match or surpass Button's lap which BAR admits was achieved with a low fuel load. If Alonso set his time with a big fuel load it is impressive but if the Renault was running light the car may not be very special. We will only know the answer to who is doing what when we get to Melbourne in five weeks time.

It may be a coincidence that Renault launched a new sponsorship with clothing company Guru today. The Guru company has been expanding with astounding pace in recent years. It was started by fashion graduate Matteo Cambi in 1999 but already sells more than four million garments a year.

The progress of the company is reminiscent of that of Benetton in the 1980s...