Zoom Renault has reserved a test day for Baguette

Bertrand Baguette, this season's runaway Formula Renault 3.5 Series Champion, will be sitting at the wheel of a Renault R29 in a few weeks' time when he heads to Spain for a test session at the Jerez circuit, where he is scheduled to get his first hands-on experience at the controls of a Formula One car on December 1.

"It will be a great first for me," said the 23-year-old. "It is as much a childhood dream as it is a goal which all drivers aim for."

Baguette has been driving the French manufacturer's single-seaters for some time, moving from Renault 1.6 to 2.0 cars, followed by the 3.5 series. "Driving a Renault F1 R29 is therefore a logical conclusion as far as I'm concerned," the Belgian remarked.

"The first laps in Formula 1 must be so incredible, with a lighter and more powerful car, and phenomenal speed in the curves," Baguette said. "I will have everything to discover: the car itself, but also a new environment, many settings, a new way of working... in the end there's only the Jerez circuit that I already know!"

Apart from Robert Kubica – a former member of Renault's young talent programme – the team has yet to confirm its full driver complement for the 2010 season. Baguette intends to make the best of the opportunity and with that goal in mind, has begun physical training in addition to taking a serious look at the goals he needs to achieve.

"The objective of the day will be to work well with the team and to influence the programme which the Renault F1 team is defining," he explained. "More than my top speed, my capacity in analysing the car's handling and the communication I have with the team members will be evaluated.

"I'm eager to be there," Baguette shared. "I will have to discover things one step at a time and take on the first laps with much humility."

Daniel BASTIEN
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