Renault RS16 is a solid platform for development - Bob Bell

In spite of its relatively limited mileage since pre-season got underway last week in Barcelona, with Renault affected by a series of gremlins at each outing, chief technical officer Bob Bell is satisfied with the team's current development status.

Jolyon Palmer, who will be running once again in the RS16 on Friday's final test day, was sidelined early on yesterday by a gearbox change but recovered in the afternoon to complete a 66-lap race simulation.

One would think that Renault's working checklist in Barcelona would have been far from complete as a consequence of the troubled running but Bob Bell actually expressed his satisfaction with where the team currently stands.

"We didn't have an excessive checklist because we didn't have a large number of development items to bring here," Bell explained.

"The car we have here is pretty much what we'll run in Melbourne, although there will be some pieces that will arrive there. So that part of the program wasn't particularly difficult to get through."

While Renault's new contender hasn't exactly shown a blistering pace, Bell admitted to be delighted with the RS16's overall behaviour.

"We were very pleasantly surprised because although the car is clearly down on overall headline performance numbers, like downforce and engine power, it actually runs very well.

"It's nicely balanced, it's consistent and very driveable. It's a good usable racing car which represents a very solid platform that we can develop on.

"So we didn't have to spend a lot of time chasing balance and set-up, which was a real blessing. It means we go to Melbourne with a lot of confidence that we can get up to speed pretty quickly."

Today, Renault will likely undertake some qualifying work which Palmer missed out on yesterday, as well as review some development items.

Follow live coverage and timing from pre-season testing here

GALLERY: Pre-season testing

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