Renault 'disappointed' by test

Disappointing test: Fernando Alonso

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Renault's executive director of engineering Pat Symonds has said he believes the team's new R29 will be on the pace by the start of the season, despite a disappointing first test.

The team were one of five to run at the Algarve circuit in Portugal last week and one of four to use their brand new 2009 challenger.

Although the R29 was off the pace of last year's Toro Rosso, which led the way during the week, more concerning for the team was that it struggled to match its 2009 rivals.

As well as a lack of pace, Fernando Alonso complained of poor handling and a lack of grip, leading to concern in the Renault camp.

However, Symonds is confident the Anglo/French squad will get a handle on the car's problems prior to the first race in Australia in late March.

"I was disappointed," he told autosport.com. "It wasn't a great test. We didn't really have everything quite the way we wanted it on the little bit of dry running we did.

"But we did come away with a lot of data to study and saw some things that we need to attend to. The aerodynamic maps of these cars are really very different and maybe we hadn't taken enough notice of that in the set-up.

"We can do better, which will make the car easier to drive and therefore better. But I really think this year more than ever it will be those last couple of tests that are the indicator."

Revisions

The R29 is set to undergo major aerodynamic revisions over the next few weeks and only then will Renault really know how they compare with their rivals.

"We can't find the final set-up until we've got the full aero package," Symonds added.

"I don't really know where we are relative to other people. I was impressed with the speed of the Williams - there's no doubt about that - but let's see what we've got in those last couple of tests."