Renault F1 Team President Patrick Faure was proud to welcome French Sports Minister Jean-François Lamour to Viry-Châtillon yesterday afternoon, to congratulate the team on their start to the 2005 season and receive a guided tour of the site.

After a visit that included seeing the F1 V10 put through its paces on the dyno with simulations of both Monaco and the Nurburgring, the minister departed impressed with what he had seen: "Congratulations to the entire team for your start to the season. To become a winning team, you need to assemble the right skills, and Renault how shown that they have made the right decisions. Your success on the track is that of France, but of a France that needs skills from across Europe in order to win. I was already impressed with what I had seen from the outside, but I leave Viry amazed."

For the team at Viry, the visit was just an interlude in an intensive programme: testing resumes tomorrow in Jerez, with Fernando Alonso and Franck Montagny in action with the R25 as the drive for improved performance continues ahead of next weekend's Spanish Grand Prix. With the event sold out well in advance, it's sure to be quite a show!