Similarly to Honda, Renault arrived at Valencia with their contender a week before its official launch, giving the first laps of the R28 to Fernando Alonso on January 21, 2008.

[1] The car was officially launched on January 31, 2008 at Renault's communications headquarters in Boulogne-Billancourt, on the banks of the Seine in south-west Paris.

[2] Renault unveiled rookie Nelson Piquet Jr. as Alonso's team mate for the 2008 season, and confirmed Lucas di Grassi,[3] Romain Grosjean[4] and Sakon Yamamoto[5] as their official test drivers.

[6] Renault made strong progress throughout the early 2008 testing schedule, with Alonso consistently at the top end of the timesheets.

The Spaniard has commented that the team are "able to keep improving our understanding of the Bridgestone tyres, and also the new way of setting up the car with no traction control or engine braking".