Robert Kubica played down the importance of lap times after finishing the first day of testing at the bottom of the time sheet. The Pole was eighth quickest on his first outing for Renault, 2.5 seconds slower than Felipe Massa's Ferrari, but says he is confident in the R30's potential.
"I don't care about the times, the priority for today was different," he said. "Testing is not to be on top of the list. Last year the maximum fuel load was 60-70kg, so if someone was lighter the difference was about 30kg. This year you can find some cars running 30kg and some 150kg, which makes the gaps much bigger. It's important to be where we should be when it counts, in Bahrain."
Kubica says the car feels good but admits he stills needs to adjust his driving style to suit the changes brought about by the new regulations.
"It was not a day to test performance, but the car feels quite good to drive, quite easy. Feeling-wise, it's very important at the beginning, but there are a few things to be cured in my driving from the way I was used to.
"Confidence is there," he added. "I found some very positive things in this package, which makes my life much easier. Some things we need to tune but I think we are on the right way."