Toyota has relinquished its F1 entry and has no intention of trying to sell it, AUTOSPORT has learned, even though there are discussions with new teams about taking over the design of its 2010 challenger.
The Japanese manufacturer announced last month that it was quitting F1 at the end of the season, and in recent days there have been rumours that it was looking to sell on its entry in a bid to avoid any punishment it may face for not competing.
However, high level sources at Toyota have dismissed any talk that Toyota is trying to get itself involved in the entry selection process - as discussions continue with the FIA and Formula One Management about drawing a line under its F1 involvement.
AUTOSPORT understands Sauber has been assured it will get the final slot on the grid instead.
The Toyota source said: "We have returned our entry to the FIA and have no intention or wish to influence or interfere in the allocation process. That is a matter for the Federation.
"We are discussing a settlement with Bernie on the basis of goodwill and what is acceptable to all parties."
Although there has been talk that Toyota could face a major fine for pulling out of F1, having signed the Concorde Agreement that in theory committed it until 2012, it is not clear how such a penalty could be enforced since the team would no longer be a competitor.
The source has also confirmed that discussions are ongoing with new teams about selling on the team's design - and perhaps leasing elements of the former Toyota team including pit equipment, engines and flight freight containers.
"We have offered the IP of our 2010 car for a nominal fee to some of the new entrants but none have accepted," said the source. "We have interest from Stefan GP but it is not clear if they will receive an entry or not."
Interestingly, the team is also offering Kamui Kobayashi as part of the package – with the Japanese driver having impressed in his two races for the team at the end of last year.
"We have asked if Kobayashi could be part of the package," said the source.
News from Formula One in the Formation Lap.
Showing posts with label Toyota. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toyota. Show all posts
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Toyota And Bridgestone 04/11/2009
The announcements this week by Toyota and Bridgestone of their withdrawal from Formula One are of concern to the FIA.
Bridgestone has given almost 18 months’ notice of its intentions, thereby allowing the necessary arrangements to be made for the future supply of tyres to the championship.
Toyota’s decision, however, comes just weeks after its F1 team signed the new Concorde Agreement until 2012.
Urgent clarification is now being sought from the Toyota F1 team as to its legal position in relation to the championship. This will have a direct bearing on the admission of any future 13th entry.
The FIA has repeatedly warned that motor sport cannot outpace the world economic crisis. That is why the competing teams have been asked to cut costs and the entry of independent teams has been encouraged.
The FIA accepted the cost-reduction measures put forward by the teams on the basis that they would ensure a long-term commitment to the championship. Toyota’s announcement demonstrates the importance of the original cost-reduction measures set out by the FIA.
The FIA will now work to ensure that Toyota’s departure is managed in the best interests of the championship and will continue to encourage the F1 teams to undertake the necessary cost-cutting measures for the good of the sport.
Bridgestone has given almost 18 months’ notice of its intentions, thereby allowing the necessary arrangements to be made for the future supply of tyres to the championship.
Toyota’s decision, however, comes just weeks after its F1 team signed the new Concorde Agreement until 2012.
Urgent clarification is now being sought from the Toyota F1 team as to its legal position in relation to the championship. This will have a direct bearing on the admission of any future 13th entry.
The FIA has repeatedly warned that motor sport cannot outpace the world economic crisis. That is why the competing teams have been asked to cut costs and the entry of independent teams has been encouraged.
The FIA accepted the cost-reduction measures put forward by the teams on the basis that they would ensure a long-term commitment to the championship. Toyota’s announcement demonstrates the importance of the original cost-reduction measures set out by the FIA.
The FIA will now work to ensure that Toyota’s departure is managed in the best interests of the championship and will continue to encourage the F1 teams to undertake the necessary cost-cutting measures for the good of the sport.
Friday, 30 October 2009
Glock now likely to leave Toyota
Timo Glock has admitted it is now likely he will leave Toyota at the end of this season, with the German's future now set to be either with Renault or the new Manor outfit.
Although AUTOSPORT understands that Toyota has made him a firm offer for next season, sources suggest that Glock is keener to follow a new path in his career.
He is close to a deal to partner Robert Kubica at Renault, but it is also believed that he has not totally ruled out an option he has at the soon-to-be Virgin-backed Manor team.
Speaking in the Abu Dhabi paddock, Glock said he had no doubts that he would be racing in F1 next year - even though he is adamant nothing is signed for 2010 year.
"100 percent," he said, when asked by AUTOSPORT about how he rated his chances of competing in F1 next year. "We have, let's say, a good conversation with the teams. I am quite positive on that."
He added: "There are a lot of rumours going on at the moment, and we have a couple of good possibilities. And there could be maybe a surprise in the next one or two weeks, where nobody has been thinking in that direction. We will see... The possibilities are there and we just have to sort it out now."
Speaking about whether Toyota remained a possibility for him, Glock hesitated before saying: "It could be, but the chance is a bit lower I would say."
Glock said there were many factors for him to consider – and made it clear he would not rule out the gamble of going with a new team, rather than an established outfit like Renault.
"Everybody says that the new teams are not interesting, but next year everything is possible," he said. "With the new rules, 150-160kg on board, it will be different. When you see the rule changes this year, and the ups and downs during the season, even a smaller team like Force India had the chance to come up to the top five.
"Brawn GP won the championship and Red Bull – there is no real constructor at the moment fighting for the championship. Sure, McLaren-Mercedes-Benz is really, really strong again at the moment, but the point is that it is more equal.
"I think you have to look in every direction because nobody knows what is going on next year. That makes it interesting and you can make the right decision, or you can make the wrong decision.
"It doesn't matter where you go, you never know what is going on next year. Sure the strong teams like McLaren and Ferrari, they will be on the top and fighting at the top, but you have to be open for everything."
Although AUTOSPORT understands that Toyota has made him a firm offer for next season, sources suggest that Glock is keener to follow a new path in his career.
He is close to a deal to partner Robert Kubica at Renault, but it is also believed that he has not totally ruled out an option he has at the soon-to-be Virgin-backed Manor team.
Speaking in the Abu Dhabi paddock, Glock said he had no doubts that he would be racing in F1 next year - even though he is adamant nothing is signed for 2010 year.
"100 percent," he said, when asked by AUTOSPORT about how he rated his chances of competing in F1 next year. "We have, let's say, a good conversation with the teams. I am quite positive on that."
He added: "There are a lot of rumours going on at the moment, and we have a couple of good possibilities. And there could be maybe a surprise in the next one or two weeks, where nobody has been thinking in that direction. We will see... The possibilities are there and we just have to sort it out now."
Speaking about whether Toyota remained a possibility for him, Glock hesitated before saying: "It could be, but the chance is a bit lower I would say."
Glock said there were many factors for him to consider – and made it clear he would not rule out the gamble of going with a new team, rather than an established outfit like Renault.
"Everybody says that the new teams are not interesting, but next year everything is possible," he said. "With the new rules, 150-160kg on board, it will be different. When you see the rule changes this year, and the ups and downs during the season, even a smaller team like Force India had the chance to come up to the top five.
"Brawn GP won the championship and Red Bull – there is no real constructor at the moment fighting for the championship. Sure, McLaren-Mercedes-Benz is really, really strong again at the moment, but the point is that it is more equal.
"I think you have to look in every direction because nobody knows what is going on next year. That makes it interesting and you can make the right decision, or you can make the wrong decision.
"It doesn't matter where you go, you never know what is going on next year. Sure the strong teams like McLaren and Ferrari, they will be on the top and fighting at the top, but you have to be open for everything."
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Q and A with Toyota's Jens Marquardt
Toyota's team manager
Conducted and provided by Toyota's press office.
Q. What are the first steps you take when preparing for a new circuit in terms of logistics?
Jens Marquardt - Team manager: The first thing is to try to get as much information as possible beforehand, so either you approach the circuit directly or, more often than not, they are proactive in letting us know what their status is. With Suzuka for example, the changes were made to the pit facilities. So they sent us the drawings, information about their plans and an invitation to go there on a recce to take photos, ask questions, make requests and understand what the situation is on the ground. It is useful to give our input about what we require from electricity and network connections, all that sort of thing.
Q. If you could have three wishes for any new venue in terms of facilities, what would they be?
JM: The first would be enough space to work and store everything comfortably, especially thinking ahead to next year when there will be more teams. Another priority would be to have facilities as similar as possible from track to track so we don't need to continually change or adapt our equipment. Finally, good transport infrastructure is essential because otherwise it can be a real inconvenience for the team.
Q. What about Abu Dhabi in particular?
JM: In the case of Abu Dhabi, it is a completely new venue so the situation is different to Suzuka because we had no existing information. We were invited to visit after the Bahrain Grand Prix and were shown what was available at that time and what was planned. They listened to our input and discussed issues like access as well as pit or office installations. Abu Dhabi is a slightly different case because Richard Cregan and Andy Beaven are working on the project so obviously we have great contact due to their time with Toyota. Also, those two guys have a lot of expertise from a team's perspective so they know exactly what is required.
Q. How about logistics away from the track?
JM: After we look at the circuit itself, the next task is to understand the logistical situation in terms of what hotels exist, which airport is most suitable and how to transport people around when they are there. We look at whether there are any regulations covering foreigners driving hire cars and if it is more appropriate to use buses; we make a decision based on the most convenient, efficient and cost-effective solution. This is actually quite a lot of work in long-term preparation so it takes place between six months and a year in advance.
Q. How are the logistics in terms of getting people to the venue in Abu Dhabi?
JM: I would say everything looks good in terms of logistics in Abu Dhabi. Our hotel is located between the airport, the city and the track so we should have decent transportation in that respect and driving should be no problem. We had a small concern in terms of immigration and access to Yas Island, which normally requires a permit, but this has been sorted out with FOM (Formula One Management) and the government so it should be quite easy for the team.
Q. How do you decide which hotels to book?
JM: More or less it is a compromise between cost, location and comfort. We have some standards that we like to provide to the team and at the same time we have a certain budget that we allocate for every event so we need to find the best fit. For Abu Dhabi we went as far as looking at the possibility of staying in Dubai and commuting every day, in case the hotels proved more suitable, but in reality it was not really viable. The transfer time is long and there is the possibility for sand storms or accidents on the roads so in the end we chose a hotel in Abu Dhabi itself. Our philosophy is that we get better quality of work from people if they have appropriate accommodation at a suitable distance from the track. If you have a long day of work then spending another hour or so transferring to the hotel is quite a burden.
Q. Does the evening start time cause any complications or changes to routine?
JM: The good thing is it is the last race of the season so the delayed starting time is not really an issue logistically or in terms of pack-up, unlike the night race in Singapore which also affected the back-to-back Grand Prix in Japan. That was quite a logistic problem on Sunday because we had the late race and then still had to have our freight ready by the normal time, so around 4am on Monday morning. It was demanding on the guys to get it all arranged in time but in Abu Dhabi this won't be a problem. It is the last race so there is no hurry to get the equipment to the next venue and our flights are on Monday night so there's plenty of time.
Q. How did the cars get from Brazil to Abu Dhabi?
JM: The cars went direct from Brazil to Abu Dhabi via the FOM air freight. They arrived at the end of last week and were stored in Abu Dhabi before our guys got there to start work on Monday morning.
Q. What are your impressions generally of the Yas Marina Circuit?
JM: It is extreme. When I was down there in April to do a recce they were already working all the time available in a day, although obviously not at the hottest time because it is impossible. What we have seen of the updates since then is incredible; something I have never seen before with a Formula 1 track. The marina they are building, which the track runs around, the hotel with the bridge across - they have invested a lot in the whole venue and it is certainly something different. They have really made an effort for the teams to have everything exactly how we want it so hopefully for us it will be the easiest new event for a long time.
Conducted and provided by Toyota's press office.
Q. What are the first steps you take when preparing for a new circuit in terms of logistics?
Jens Marquardt - Team manager: The first thing is to try to get as much information as possible beforehand, so either you approach the circuit directly or, more often than not, they are proactive in letting us know what their status is. With Suzuka for example, the changes were made to the pit facilities. So they sent us the drawings, information about their plans and an invitation to go there on a recce to take photos, ask questions, make requests and understand what the situation is on the ground. It is useful to give our input about what we require from electricity and network connections, all that sort of thing.
Q. If you could have three wishes for any new venue in terms of facilities, what would they be?
JM: The first would be enough space to work and store everything comfortably, especially thinking ahead to next year when there will be more teams. Another priority would be to have facilities as similar as possible from track to track so we don't need to continually change or adapt our equipment. Finally, good transport infrastructure is essential because otherwise it can be a real inconvenience for the team.
Q. What about Abu Dhabi in particular?
JM: In the case of Abu Dhabi, it is a completely new venue so the situation is different to Suzuka because we had no existing information. We were invited to visit after the Bahrain Grand Prix and were shown what was available at that time and what was planned. They listened to our input and discussed issues like access as well as pit or office installations. Abu Dhabi is a slightly different case because Richard Cregan and Andy Beaven are working on the project so obviously we have great contact due to their time with Toyota. Also, those two guys have a lot of expertise from a team's perspective so they know exactly what is required.
Q. How about logistics away from the track?
JM: After we look at the circuit itself, the next task is to understand the logistical situation in terms of what hotels exist, which airport is most suitable and how to transport people around when they are there. We look at whether there are any regulations covering foreigners driving hire cars and if it is more appropriate to use buses; we make a decision based on the most convenient, efficient and cost-effective solution. This is actually quite a lot of work in long-term preparation so it takes place between six months and a year in advance.
Q. How are the logistics in terms of getting people to the venue in Abu Dhabi?
JM: I would say everything looks good in terms of logistics in Abu Dhabi. Our hotel is located between the airport, the city and the track so we should have decent transportation in that respect and driving should be no problem. We had a small concern in terms of immigration and access to Yas Island, which normally requires a permit, but this has been sorted out with FOM (Formula One Management) and the government so it should be quite easy for the team.
Q. How do you decide which hotels to book?
JM: More or less it is a compromise between cost, location and comfort. We have some standards that we like to provide to the team and at the same time we have a certain budget that we allocate for every event so we need to find the best fit. For Abu Dhabi we went as far as looking at the possibility of staying in Dubai and commuting every day, in case the hotels proved more suitable, but in reality it was not really viable. The transfer time is long and there is the possibility for sand storms or accidents on the roads so in the end we chose a hotel in Abu Dhabi itself. Our philosophy is that we get better quality of work from people if they have appropriate accommodation at a suitable distance from the track. If you have a long day of work then spending another hour or so transferring to the hotel is quite a burden.
Q. Does the evening start time cause any complications or changes to routine?
JM: The good thing is it is the last race of the season so the delayed starting time is not really an issue logistically or in terms of pack-up, unlike the night race in Singapore which also affected the back-to-back Grand Prix in Japan. That was quite a logistic problem on Sunday because we had the late race and then still had to have our freight ready by the normal time, so around 4am on Monday morning. It was demanding on the guys to get it all arranged in time but in Abu Dhabi this won't be a problem. It is the last race so there is no hurry to get the equipment to the next venue and our flights are on Monday night so there's plenty of time.
Q. How did the cars get from Brazil to Abu Dhabi?
JM: The cars went direct from Brazil to Abu Dhabi via the FOM air freight. They arrived at the end of last week and were stored in Abu Dhabi before our guys got there to start work on Monday morning.
Q. What are your impressions generally of the Yas Marina Circuit?
JM: It is extreme. When I was down there in April to do a recce they were already working all the time available in a day, although obviously not at the hottest time because it is impossible. What we have seen of the updates since then is incredible; something I have never seen before with a Formula 1 track. The marina they are building, which the track runs around, the hotel with the bridge across - they have invested a lot in the whole venue and it is certainly something different. They have really made an effort for the teams to have everything exactly how we want it so hopefully for us it will be the easiest new event for a long time.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Toyota Preview
Panasonic Toyota Racing reaches the end of a successful season with a trip to the United Arab Emirates for the first-ever Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, held on the new Yas Marina Circuit. Not only is this weekend's race held at a new venue, it is also held in unique conditions with the race starting in daylight at 5pm local time but finishing in darkness and under floodlights 55 laps later. The track, which will become the 67th to hold a Formula 1 World Championship race, winds its way around Yas Marina through a series of 90° turns but also includes two long back straights where the cars are expected to reach over 300km/h. Toyota is looking to add to the 54.5 points it has scored already this season, having been unfortunate to miss out in the Brazilian Grand Prix when Jarno Trulli was involved in an accident while challenging for another podium finish. Kamui Kobayashi made an impressive Grand Prix debut in the same race and will again compete in Abu Dhabi in place of Timo Glock, who has a cracked vertebra.
Jarno Trulli - Car 9
"It's been an up-and-down season for us with such a strong start followed by some disappointing races in Europe then a really competitive end to the year. As Abu Dhabi is a new track it's impossible to predict how we will perform but after the speed we showed in the last three races I am confident of finishing the year on a high. I was extremely frustrated to be eliminated by an accident in Brazil because we had looked very quick all weekend and I genuinely believe we had a fantastic chance of finishing on the podium. So I am confident for this weekend and I am really motivated to get another great result before the season ends. Abu Dhabi looks like another fantastic new venue and I am really interested to see what the track is like to drive so I can't wait for practice to begin on Friday."
Kamui Kobayashi - Car 10
"I am really looking forward to my second Grand Prix and I want to make the most of this unexpected chance. I didn't know the track in Brazil and that was a little bit of a disadvantage because almost all the other drivers had some experience of it. But that's not the case in Abu Dhabi; this is a new track for everyone so that should help me. I am also more familiar with the car now, as well as other procedures during a race weekend like pit stops and the two tyre compounds, so I expect to be more competitive in Abu Dhabi. I am sure the car will be strong and I will do everything I can to try to score my first points in Formula 1. Of course it will be extremely difficult because the field is very strong and this is just my second Grand Prix but I will give my all."
John Howett - President
"We are very much looking forward to the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which marks the end of an eventful and positive season for us. Even if we haven't yet achieved all our targets, we produced a very competitive car and when we made the most of its potential we were able to fight systematically for the podium. Having discussed the medical advice with Timo and his management, the team has decided to take no risk and to put Kamui in the car. He proved in very difficult circumstances in Brazil that he can compete in Formula 1 and we are looking forward to another gutsy performance. This track is again new to him but that is true for everyone, which should work in Kamui's favour, so we are expecting a strong display from both drivers."
Jarno Trulli - Car 9
"It's been an up-and-down season for us with such a strong start followed by some disappointing races in Europe then a really competitive end to the year. As Abu Dhabi is a new track it's impossible to predict how we will perform but after the speed we showed in the last three races I am confident of finishing the year on a high. I was extremely frustrated to be eliminated by an accident in Brazil because we had looked very quick all weekend and I genuinely believe we had a fantastic chance of finishing on the podium. So I am confident for this weekend and I am really motivated to get another great result before the season ends. Abu Dhabi looks like another fantastic new venue and I am really interested to see what the track is like to drive so I can't wait for practice to begin on Friday."
Kamui Kobayashi - Car 10
"I am really looking forward to my second Grand Prix and I want to make the most of this unexpected chance. I didn't know the track in Brazil and that was a little bit of a disadvantage because almost all the other drivers had some experience of it. But that's not the case in Abu Dhabi; this is a new track for everyone so that should help me. I am also more familiar with the car now, as well as other procedures during a race weekend like pit stops and the two tyre compounds, so I expect to be more competitive in Abu Dhabi. I am sure the car will be strong and I will do everything I can to try to score my first points in Formula 1. Of course it will be extremely difficult because the field is very strong and this is just my second Grand Prix but I will give my all."
John Howett - President
"We are very much looking forward to the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which marks the end of an eventful and positive season for us. Even if we haven't yet achieved all our targets, we produced a very competitive car and when we made the most of its potential we were able to fight systematically for the podium. Having discussed the medical advice with Timo and his management, the team has decided to take no risk and to put Kamui in the car. He proved in very difficult circumstances in Brazil that he can compete in Formula 1 and we are looking forward to another gutsy performance. This track is again new to him but that is true for everyone, which should work in Kamui's favour, so we are expecting a strong display from both drivers."
Kamui Kobayashi to compete in Abu Dhabi Grand
Prix Panasonic Toyota Racing can confirm that Kamui Kobayashi will race for the team in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Kamui, 23, made his Grand Prix debut in Brazil, where he qualified 11th and finished ninth after a fighting performance.
He once again replaces Timo Glock, who suffered a cracked vertebra in an accident during qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix earlier this month. Due to differing medical opinions regarding Timo’s fitness to race, the team is not prepared to take any risks regarding his health.
President John Howett said: “We feel genuinely sorry for Timo that his season, which has included two impressive podium finishes, is ending in this way. But we have been given differing medical advice on the status of his back problem and we are not willing to run the risk of a further accident inflicting more serious injuries. Kamui performed well in Brazil in difficult circumstances so we are happy to ask him to once again deputise.”
Kamui, 23, made his Grand Prix debut in Brazil, where he qualified 11th and finished ninth after a fighting performance.
He once again replaces Timo Glock, who suffered a cracked vertebra in an accident during qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix earlier this month. Due to differing medical opinions regarding Timo’s fitness to race, the team is not prepared to take any risks regarding his health.
President John Howett said: “We feel genuinely sorry for Timo that his season, which has included two impressive podium finishes, is ending in this way. But we have been given differing medical advice on the status of his back problem and we are not willing to run the risk of a further accident inflicting more serious injuries. Kamui performed well in Brazil in difficult circumstances so we are happy to ask him to once again deputise.”
Glock to miss final race of the season
Timo Glock will miss the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, his Toyota team confirmed on Tuesday, and will again be replaced by Kamui Kobayashi.
The German driver has been forced to miss the last two races in Japan and Brazil after he cracked a vertebra in an accident during qualifying at Suzuka.
Although Toyota was hopeful Glock would be fit to compete in the final race of the season, the Japanese squad said on Tuesday that it did not want to take risks and so Kobayashi will race again.
"We feel genuinely sorry for Timo that his season, which has included two impressive podium finishes, is ending in this way," said team president John Howett.
"Having discussed the medical advice with Timo and his management, the team has decided to take no risk and to put Kamui in the car. Kamui performed well in Brazil in difficult circumstances so we are happy to ask him to once again deputise."
Twenty-three year-old Kobayashi had a promising debut at Interlagos, finishing in 11th position.
The German driver has been forced to miss the last two races in Japan and Brazil after he cracked a vertebra in an accident during qualifying at Suzuka.
Although Toyota was hopeful Glock would be fit to compete in the final race of the season, the Japanese squad said on Tuesday that it did not want to take risks and so Kobayashi will race again.
"We feel genuinely sorry for Timo that his season, which has included two impressive podium finishes, is ending in this way," said team president John Howett.
"Having discussed the medical advice with Timo and his management, the team has decided to take no risk and to put Kamui in the car. Kamui performed well in Brazil in difficult circumstances so we are happy to ask him to once again deputise."
Twenty-three year-old Kobayashi had a promising debut at Interlagos, finishing in 11th position.
Monday, 26 October 2009
Toyota to decide on Glock on Tuesday
Toyota will wait until Tuesday before deciding whether or not Timo Glock will return to the cockpit for this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The German was forced to miss the race in Brazil as the result of a fractured vertebra he suffered in his Japanese Grand Prix qualifying accident. He was replaced at Interlagos by Kamui Kobayashi.
Although initial medical reports indicated Glock would not be fit in time for the final race of the season, the team is still hopeful that he will have made enough of a recovery to be back in action.
If Glock is not fit, then Kobayashi will almost certainly race again - having impressed the team with his pace throughout the Brazil weekend.
The German was forced to miss the race in Brazil as the result of a fractured vertebra he suffered in his Japanese Grand Prix qualifying accident. He was replaced at Interlagos by Kamui Kobayashi.
Although initial medical reports indicated Glock would not be fit in time for the final race of the season, the team is still hopeful that he will have made enough of a recovery to be back in action.
If Glock is not fit, then Kobayashi will almost certainly race again - having impressed the team with his pace throughout the Brazil weekend.
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Brazilian Grand Prix - Arai Report - Toyota
Thank you, as always, for your support over the weekend. The F1 World Championship brought the battle to the Southern Hemisphere for Round 16, the Brazilian Grand Prix. The weather in Sao Paolo was even more uncooperative than in past years, presenting a very difficult set of circumstances for racing. Without further ado, here is my report from the Brazilian Grand Prix, conducted at the famous Interlagos Circuit.
Further tests detect a spinal injury in Timo; Kamui steps in for a grand prix debut
Before I begin my Brazilian GP race report, I have to make an announcement. As you know, our normal driving pair of Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock was replaced by Jarno and Kamui Kobayashi, who took Timo’s place. After crashing in Japanese GP qualifying, Timo returned to Germany to undergo further detailed testing, which uncovered a spinal injury. Accordingly, we held Timo out of the Brazilian GP, replacing him with reserve driver Kamui Kobayashi.
Kamui substituted for Timo during Friday free practice at the Japanese GP when Timo was feeling under the weather. At that time, we left the car setup for Timo, planning that Kamui would only be driving for a few hours on Friday. But with Kamui driving all three days this week, we adjusted the steering and other components to his preferences. In every sense, this was Kamui’s true coming-out party in F1. I had every expectation that Kamui would make the most of his long-awaited chance.
Setup work progresses smoothly for Jarno on one of his best courses; Kamui finishes an error-free day one
Rain showers created difficulties on track. With conditions changing several times during each session, Kamui had a frustrating experience with his car setup work. Even so, Kamui delivered an error-free performance, demonstrating his ability to compete on the circuit.
We didn’t make any setup changes for Kamui on Friday morning practice, letting him drive as many laps as possible to get used to the car and to his first experience with the Interlagos Circuit. We started setup work for Kamui during Friday afternoon practice, having him drive a series of Saturday qualifying simulations. I think Kamui was less than happy with his day one, being impatient with the setup work, and fighting the rain during his time attack laps. Even so, he kept the car on the track and drove an error-free day, despite so many drivers spinning off course due to the intermittent rain showers. Kamui’s performance was once again well received by team personnel.
Having secured a front-row qualifying in last year’s Brazilian GP, Jarno enjoyed a smooth setup process, scoring P6 on the afternoon time charts. The Interlagos Circuit has characteristics very similar to Suzuka, requiring only a little less downforce aerodynamically speaking. Since the TF109 performed so well in Japan two weeks ago, we believed that we could adopt our Suzuka Special package in Brazil to similar effect.
Despite a long drawn-out qualifying with several red-flag interruptions, Toyota drivers maintain concentration and secure P4, P11 on the starting grid
Interrupted numerous times by rain and red flags, Brazilian GP qualifying was conducted over an extended period of time. Never losing his focus, Jarno moved through Q1 and Q2 into the final qualifying period. In Q3, Jarno secured a P4 grid spot on intermediate (shallow grooved) tires.
Official qualifying for this year’s Brazilian Grand Prix was conducted under very difficult circumstances, interrupted several times by red flags. Still, Jarno pulled out a P4 qualifying performance. Kamui missed out advancing to Q3 by the slimmest of margins, but securing a P11 grid spot in his first grand prix—under wet conditions at that—further raised his stock in the eyes of the team.
The frustrating part was that both drivers should have actually qualified even higher, except for some unlucky conditions. Kamui was running in the top 10 during Q2 before being edged out. In his last attack run, Kamui’s car slid on a puddle in Turn 3, which kept him from improving on his prior time. Without that incident, Kamui definitely would have advanced to Q3 as one of the top 10 drivers, especially considering the fact that he recorded his fastest Sector 2 time during that run.
Meanwhile, just prior to his final attack lap, Jarno had to slow down slightly to maintain a gap with Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP) who was ahead on the track. The drop in speed cost Jarno the chance to make it through the control line before the checkered flag, and he wasn’t able to take another hot lap. Despite the bad breaks, both drivers delivered strong, error-free performances in qualifying, fighting rain and an especially long session that lasted two hours and forty-one minutes due to a continuous series of stoppages.
Having won two consecutive podium finishes at Singapore and Suzuka under dry conditions, we also proved that the TF109 was competitive in the rain during Saturday’s qualifying. Our goal for Sunday was to make a team-record third consecutive podium.
Jarno retires due to an unlucky collision; Kamui drives an aggressive race
The TF109 was in fantastic form, competing well with the other teams during the first stint of the race. After changing tires during the first pit stop, the balance of the car seemed to alter. The problem caused a loss of speed for Kamui. Still, the young driver continued to attack, taking the checkered flag with a top 10 finish.
From P4 on the starting grid, Jarno was on the dirty inside lane. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) was behind and to outside of Jarno, starting from P5. Raikkonen took the spot from Jarno, but compared to the other drives who started from the inside lane, Jarno had a decent getaway.
Turn 6 is where the damage was done. Raikkonen’s car was experiencing some problems due to contact in Turn 4. Adrian Sutil (Force India) attempted to overtake the Ferrari driver, but was taking some time to do it. Seeing an opening, Jarno pulled up outside Sutil in Turn 5, but unfortunately, the cars came into contact with each other. Considering fuel loads, I think Jarno had every chance to make it to the podium on Sunday’s race.
This incident left Kamui as the only Panasonic Toyota Racing car in the Brazilian GP. Kamui took up the challenge, driving an aggressive race on behalf of Jarno and the team. In particular, Kamui drove like a prize fighter during the first stint after the safety car left the course, while the pit crew in the garage was drawn up in the spirit watching our race strategy unfold.
Naturally, being his first-ever race, we saw room for improvement in tire usage and pit stop accuracy, but Kamui performed much better than we had a right to expect.
The next race will be the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix—the final race of the 2009 season. As the last race of the year, everyone at Panasonic Toyota Racing will be sparing no effort to put in a performance worthy of our loyal fans. Please cheer us on.
Noritoshi Arai at Interlagos. Despite high confidence in the performance of the TF109, unstable weather conditions and bad luck combined to keep the team from scoring a third-consecutive podium finish. Wrapping up the 2009 season in Abu Dhabi, everyone at Panasonic Toyota Racing will be doing their utmost for a strong result!
Further tests detect a spinal injury in Timo; Kamui steps in for a grand prix debut
Before I begin my Brazilian GP race report, I have to make an announcement. As you know, our normal driving pair of Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock was replaced by Jarno and Kamui Kobayashi, who took Timo’s place. After crashing in Japanese GP qualifying, Timo returned to Germany to undergo further detailed testing, which uncovered a spinal injury. Accordingly, we held Timo out of the Brazilian GP, replacing him with reserve driver Kamui Kobayashi.
Kamui substituted for Timo during Friday free practice at the Japanese GP when Timo was feeling under the weather. At that time, we left the car setup for Timo, planning that Kamui would only be driving for a few hours on Friday. But with Kamui driving all three days this week, we adjusted the steering and other components to his preferences. In every sense, this was Kamui’s true coming-out party in F1. I had every expectation that Kamui would make the most of his long-awaited chance.
Setup work progresses smoothly for Jarno on one of his best courses; Kamui finishes an error-free day one
Rain showers created difficulties on track. With conditions changing several times during each session, Kamui had a frustrating experience with his car setup work. Even so, Kamui delivered an error-free performance, demonstrating his ability to compete on the circuit.
We didn’t make any setup changes for Kamui on Friday morning practice, letting him drive as many laps as possible to get used to the car and to his first experience with the Interlagos Circuit. We started setup work for Kamui during Friday afternoon practice, having him drive a series of Saturday qualifying simulations. I think Kamui was less than happy with his day one, being impatient with the setup work, and fighting the rain during his time attack laps. Even so, he kept the car on the track and drove an error-free day, despite so many drivers spinning off course due to the intermittent rain showers. Kamui’s performance was once again well received by team personnel.
Having secured a front-row qualifying in last year’s Brazilian GP, Jarno enjoyed a smooth setup process, scoring P6 on the afternoon time charts. The Interlagos Circuit has characteristics very similar to Suzuka, requiring only a little less downforce aerodynamically speaking. Since the TF109 performed so well in Japan two weeks ago, we believed that we could adopt our Suzuka Special package in Brazil to similar effect.
Despite a long drawn-out qualifying with several red-flag interruptions, Toyota drivers maintain concentration and secure P4, P11 on the starting grid
Interrupted numerous times by rain and red flags, Brazilian GP qualifying was conducted over an extended period of time. Never losing his focus, Jarno moved through Q1 and Q2 into the final qualifying period. In Q3, Jarno secured a P4 grid spot on intermediate (shallow grooved) tires.
Official qualifying for this year’s Brazilian Grand Prix was conducted under very difficult circumstances, interrupted several times by red flags. Still, Jarno pulled out a P4 qualifying performance. Kamui missed out advancing to Q3 by the slimmest of margins, but securing a P11 grid spot in his first grand prix—under wet conditions at that—further raised his stock in the eyes of the team.
The frustrating part was that both drivers should have actually qualified even higher, except for some unlucky conditions. Kamui was running in the top 10 during Q2 before being edged out. In his last attack run, Kamui’s car slid on a puddle in Turn 3, which kept him from improving on his prior time. Without that incident, Kamui definitely would have advanced to Q3 as one of the top 10 drivers, especially considering the fact that he recorded his fastest Sector 2 time during that run.
Meanwhile, just prior to his final attack lap, Jarno had to slow down slightly to maintain a gap with Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP) who was ahead on the track. The drop in speed cost Jarno the chance to make it through the control line before the checkered flag, and he wasn’t able to take another hot lap. Despite the bad breaks, both drivers delivered strong, error-free performances in qualifying, fighting rain and an especially long session that lasted two hours and forty-one minutes due to a continuous series of stoppages.
Having won two consecutive podium finishes at Singapore and Suzuka under dry conditions, we also proved that the TF109 was competitive in the rain during Saturday’s qualifying. Our goal for Sunday was to make a team-record third consecutive podium.
Jarno retires due to an unlucky collision; Kamui drives an aggressive race
The TF109 was in fantastic form, competing well with the other teams during the first stint of the race. After changing tires during the first pit stop, the balance of the car seemed to alter. The problem caused a loss of speed for Kamui. Still, the young driver continued to attack, taking the checkered flag with a top 10 finish.
From P4 on the starting grid, Jarno was on the dirty inside lane. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) was behind and to outside of Jarno, starting from P5. Raikkonen took the spot from Jarno, but compared to the other drives who started from the inside lane, Jarno had a decent getaway.
Turn 6 is where the damage was done. Raikkonen’s car was experiencing some problems due to contact in Turn 4. Adrian Sutil (Force India) attempted to overtake the Ferrari driver, but was taking some time to do it. Seeing an opening, Jarno pulled up outside Sutil in Turn 5, but unfortunately, the cars came into contact with each other. Considering fuel loads, I think Jarno had every chance to make it to the podium on Sunday’s race.
This incident left Kamui as the only Panasonic Toyota Racing car in the Brazilian GP. Kamui took up the challenge, driving an aggressive race on behalf of Jarno and the team. In particular, Kamui drove like a prize fighter during the first stint after the safety car left the course, while the pit crew in the garage was drawn up in the spirit watching our race strategy unfold.
Naturally, being his first-ever race, we saw room for improvement in tire usage and pit stop accuracy, but Kamui performed much better than we had a right to expect.
The next race will be the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix—the final race of the 2009 season. As the last race of the year, everyone at Panasonic Toyota Racing will be sparing no effort to put in a performance worthy of our loyal fans. Please cheer us on.
Noritoshi Arai at Interlagos. Despite high confidence in the performance of the TF109, unstable weather conditions and bad luck combined to keep the team from scoring a third-consecutive podium finish. Wrapping up the 2009 season in Abu Dhabi, everyone at Panasonic Toyota Racing will be doing their utmost for a strong result!
Monday, 19 October 2009
Brazilian Grand Prix - Postcard from the Toyota Paddock
18.10.2009
They think it's all over… but not yet
Traditionally in recent years the Brazilian Grand Prix has marked the final race of the season – and Sao Paulo is the perfect place for a party to celebrate.
But this year there is the new race in Abu Dhabi still to come, so the atmosphere around Interlagos was a little different.
Team members still made their annual pilgrimage to the churrascarias – Brazilian beef restaurants where the prime cuts are delivered in an endless stream directly to your plate – but with one race still to go, there were no end-of-season parties.
Instead it was all hands to the pump as Panasonic Toyota Racing fought to close the gap on third place in the Constructors'Championship.
Brazil offers the smallest paddock of the whole Formula 1 season, with the unique exception of Monaco, and team members have to work smartly in the garage to avoid bumping into each other or their equipment.
The same was true in offices, where equipment was stored in every possible space, including kitchen sinks and high above the office space on any unused flat surface.
But if that proved trying at times there was always the consolation that in two weeks the final race of the season will bring the newest paddock in Formula 1, with giant air-conditioned garages promised by organisers.
Mad dash
Third driver Kamui Kobayashi's schedule since the Japanese Grand Prix has seen him really clock up the air miles and culminated in his Grand Prix debut.
After Suzuka, he headed back to Europe to take part in a GP2 Series test for Racing Engineering; a new team for the 23-year-old to get used to. He adapted well though and ended the second day in third fastest.
Having adjusted to a GP2 car again and a new team, he was back on a plane – or three to be exact – to take him to Tokyo and the Motor Sport Japan festival, where he drove a TF108 in front of thousands of passionate fans.
On Sunday in Tokyo it was announced Kamui had a new job; race driver for Panasonic Toyota Racing in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
So, he was straight on another plane to head half way around the world to Sao Paulo. After all that travelling, he could be forgiven for needing a relaxing weekend but with a Grand Prix debut on the horizon, that wasn't likely.
Having watched Jarno and Timo at work from close quarters all season, he had the chance to step into their shoes, which meant a series of engineering meetings as well as media and sponsor commitments – not to mention driving the car!
In the stick of it
Bringing in Kamui as a replacement for Timo was not just a matter of handing him his helmet and letting him hit the track; there were plenty of additional details to be completed in order for Kamui's Grand Prix debut to run smoothly.
Take the garage for example, all season the team has had stickers on the overhead gantry and the floor designating the area for Jarno and Timo.
That would not look right when Timo is recovering back in Germany and Kamui was in the car, so the stickering guys worked flat-out to produce new signs, putting Kamui's name in lights.
There were other areas which needed similar adjustment as well, such as the pit board, while even table reservation signs for media interviews needed hasty updates.
But it was not feasible to personalize every area for Kamui and the tyre warmers still carried Timo's name. After all, buying a whole new set of tyre warmers for what could be just one race weekend is far from efficient.
They think it's all over… but not yet
Traditionally in recent years the Brazilian Grand Prix has marked the final race of the season – and Sao Paulo is the perfect place for a party to celebrate.
But this year there is the new race in Abu Dhabi still to come, so the atmosphere around Interlagos was a little different.
Team members still made their annual pilgrimage to the churrascarias – Brazilian beef restaurants where the prime cuts are delivered in an endless stream directly to your plate – but with one race still to go, there were no end-of-season parties.
Instead it was all hands to the pump as Panasonic Toyota Racing fought to close the gap on third place in the Constructors'Championship.
Brazil offers the smallest paddock of the whole Formula 1 season, with the unique exception of Monaco, and team members have to work smartly in the garage to avoid bumping into each other or their equipment.
The same was true in offices, where equipment was stored in every possible space, including kitchen sinks and high above the office space on any unused flat surface.
But if that proved trying at times there was always the consolation that in two weeks the final race of the season will bring the newest paddock in Formula 1, with giant air-conditioned garages promised by organisers.
Mad dash
Third driver Kamui Kobayashi's schedule since the Japanese Grand Prix has seen him really clock up the air miles and culminated in his Grand Prix debut.
After Suzuka, he headed back to Europe to take part in a GP2 Series test for Racing Engineering; a new team for the 23-year-old to get used to. He adapted well though and ended the second day in third fastest.
Having adjusted to a GP2 car again and a new team, he was back on a plane – or three to be exact – to take him to Tokyo and the Motor Sport Japan festival, where he drove a TF108 in front of thousands of passionate fans.
On Sunday in Tokyo it was announced Kamui had a new job; race driver for Panasonic Toyota Racing in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
So, he was straight on another plane to head half way around the world to Sao Paulo. After all that travelling, he could be forgiven for needing a relaxing weekend but with a Grand Prix debut on the horizon, that wasn't likely.
Having watched Jarno and Timo at work from close quarters all season, he had the chance to step into their shoes, which meant a series of engineering meetings as well as media and sponsor commitments – not to mention driving the car!
In the stick of it
Bringing in Kamui as a replacement for Timo was not just a matter of handing him his helmet and letting him hit the track; there were plenty of additional details to be completed in order for Kamui's Grand Prix debut to run smoothly.
Take the garage for example, all season the team has had stickers on the overhead gantry and the floor designating the area for Jarno and Timo.
That would not look right when Timo is recovering back in Germany and Kamui was in the car, so the stickering guys worked flat-out to produce new signs, putting Kamui's name in lights.
There were other areas which needed similar adjustment as well, such as the pit board, while even table reservation signs for media interviews needed hasty updates.
But it was not feasible to personalize every area for Kamui and the tyre warmers still carried Timo's name. After all, buying a whole new set of tyre warmers for what could be just one race weekend is far from efficient.
Brazilian Grand Prix - Race Round-Up Toyota
18.10.2009
Panasonic Toyota Racing concluded the Brazilian Grand Prix with neither TF109 in the points after an eventful race at Interlagos in Sao Paulo. Kamui Kobayashi, standing in for the injured Timo Glock, made a commendable Grand Prix debut to finish in the top 10 but Jarno Trulli's challenge for another podium ended with an accident on the first lap. Jarno was fighting at the front when he was pushed wide at the exit of turn five, spinning into the wall. He was forced to retire on the spot but Kamui made impressive progress, defending his position into turn one then taking advantage of the drama to move into sixth. With a heavy fuel load, he coped well under extreme pressure from the cars behind but lost a position at the beginning of lap 25, before being briefly overtaken for seventh at the end of the same lap. However, he showed his fighting qualities by immediately reclaiming the spot and ran as high as third due to a long first stint on medium compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres. His first pit stop in Formula 1 went smoothly and he resumed battle, again using medium compound tyres before a shorter final stint on super soft rubber. Despite the physically tough race on the anti-clockwise Interlagos track, he fought to the very end and earned a top-10 spot by passing the Ferrari of Giancarlo Fisichella on lap 68. With a clear track ahead, Kamui took the chequered flag on his Grand Prix debut, finishing with a flourish by setting his fastest lap on the very last lap.
Kamui Kobayashi - Car 10, Chassis TF109-04
Grid: 11th
Race Classification: 9th (+1min 3.324s)
Pit Stop Laps: 30, 56
"It was a tough race for me. As this was my Grand Prix debut I experienced a lot of things for the first time in Formula 1 so it was a learning experience. Physically it felt like a really long race and it was quite tough. My first target was to finish the race and I am pleased to achieve that, but after the start I was in a decent position to score points so I am a little disappointed I didn't. The car felt good in the first stint but when I changed tyres the balance felt a different and I was struggling a bit; probably this was just down to experience. It was my first race so there are several areas to improve but overall I am happy with how I have performed this weekend and I would like to thank the team for all its support."
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
Grid: 4th
Race Classification: DNF
"I am extremely frustrated by what happened today because I had a very good chance to challenge for the podium. On the first lap (Adrian) Sutil was very slow through turn four because he was fighting with (Kimi) Raikkonen. He was on the inside so I took the outside line but he kept pushing me wider and wider. In the end I was on the grass and had no control of the car so I crashed into the wall at high speed. I think there was enough space for both of us to get around the corner."
Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal
"It is disappointing not to score points here because we had high expectations. Jarno was unlucky on the first lap and I feel really sorry for him because he had the chance to get another very strong result. So Kamui was the only Toyota in the race but he did a really good job, especially on a track he has never raced on before and after the difficult conditions earlier in the weekend. As we have come to expect from him, he battled really hard and also put on an exciting show for the fans. It was particularly impressive to see him overtaking another car at the end of a hard race and I am proud of his efforts."
Panasonic Toyota Racing concluded the Brazilian Grand Prix with neither TF109 in the points after an eventful race at Interlagos in Sao Paulo. Kamui Kobayashi, standing in for the injured Timo Glock, made a commendable Grand Prix debut to finish in the top 10 but Jarno Trulli's challenge for another podium ended with an accident on the first lap. Jarno was fighting at the front when he was pushed wide at the exit of turn five, spinning into the wall. He was forced to retire on the spot but Kamui made impressive progress, defending his position into turn one then taking advantage of the drama to move into sixth. With a heavy fuel load, he coped well under extreme pressure from the cars behind but lost a position at the beginning of lap 25, before being briefly overtaken for seventh at the end of the same lap. However, he showed his fighting qualities by immediately reclaiming the spot and ran as high as third due to a long first stint on medium compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres. His first pit stop in Formula 1 went smoothly and he resumed battle, again using medium compound tyres before a shorter final stint on super soft rubber. Despite the physically tough race on the anti-clockwise Interlagos track, he fought to the very end and earned a top-10 spot by passing the Ferrari of Giancarlo Fisichella on lap 68. With a clear track ahead, Kamui took the chequered flag on his Grand Prix debut, finishing with a flourish by setting his fastest lap on the very last lap.
Kamui Kobayashi - Car 10, Chassis TF109-04
Grid: 11th
Race Classification: 9th (+1min 3.324s)
Pit Stop Laps: 30, 56
"It was a tough race for me. As this was my Grand Prix debut I experienced a lot of things for the first time in Formula 1 so it was a learning experience. Physically it felt like a really long race and it was quite tough. My first target was to finish the race and I am pleased to achieve that, but after the start I was in a decent position to score points so I am a little disappointed I didn't. The car felt good in the first stint but when I changed tyres the balance felt a different and I was struggling a bit; probably this was just down to experience. It was my first race so there are several areas to improve but overall I am happy with how I have performed this weekend and I would like to thank the team for all its support."
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
Grid: 4th
Race Classification: DNF
"I am extremely frustrated by what happened today because I had a very good chance to challenge for the podium. On the first lap (Adrian) Sutil was very slow through turn four because he was fighting with (Kimi) Raikkonen. He was on the inside so I took the outside line but he kept pushing me wider and wider. In the end I was on the grass and had no control of the car so I crashed into the wall at high speed. I think there was enough space for both of us to get around the corner."
Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal
"It is disappointing not to score points here because we had high expectations. Jarno was unlucky on the first lap and I feel really sorry for him because he had the chance to get another very strong result. So Kamui was the only Toyota in the race but he did a really good job, especially on a track he has never raced on before and after the difficult conditions earlier in the weekend. As we have come to expect from him, he battled really hard and also put on an exciting show for the fans. It was particularly impressive to see him overtaking another car at the end of a hard race and I am proud of his efforts."
Sunday, 18 October 2009
Brazilian Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
Panasonic Toyota Racing recorded a positive result in a severely rain-affected qualifying session for the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos in Sao Paulo today. Jarno Trulli starts from a strong second-row position while Kamui Kobayashi, a replacement for the injured Timo Glock, will make his Grand Prix debut from 11th after an impressive effort. Heavy rain played havoc with proceedings having already restricted final practice to just 18 minutes this morning. The storms caused an eight-minute delay in first qualifying before both drivers ventured out on wet Bridgestone Potenza tyres. On a very wet track they both performed well to progress to the second session, which was initially delayed by 16 minutes due to the conditions then, after just two minutes of action, halted for one hour and 11 minutes. When the rain finally stopped, qualifying could resume and Kamui was desperately close to claiming a top-10 spot, dropping to 11th in the last seconds as Jarno, also on intermediate tyres by now, progressed in the top three. Track conditions continued to improve in third qualifying, where Jarno used intermediate tyres to claim fourth place with his final flying lap.
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
3rd Practice: 8th, 1m 24.859s (+1.677s), 5 laps
1st Qualifying: 11th, 1m 24.621s (+1.793s), 11 laps
2nd Qualifying: 3rd, 1m 20.635s (+0.267s), 10 laps
3rd Qualifying: 4th, 1m 20.097s (+0.521s), 8 laps
"It was a very intense qualifying session. In first qualifying the only target was to keep the car on the track and try to do a reasonable lap time because the conditions were horrible, with a lot of aquaplaning. It was extremely hard and the important thing was to stay focused; we managed to get through which was the important thing. In second and third qualifying it was much better and the car was running well so I was able to push harder. I enjoyed it because we were putting in some quick lap times on the right tyres and it's good to be on the second row. It would be nice to repeat the Japanese Grand Prix podium and I will be fighting hard."
Kamui Kobayashi - Car 10, Chassis TF109-04
3rd Practice: 20th, 1m 30.259s (+7.077s), 4 laps
1st Qualifying: 7th, 1m 24.335s (+1.507s), 11 laps
2nd Qualifying: 11th, 1m 21.960s (+1.592s), 11 laps
"That was a very difficult session for my first qualifying experience in Formula 1. The conditions were really hard because from lap to lap the situation changed and there was a lot of aquaplaning. I have never driven this track in those conditions before so it was certainly not easy but the car felt good. I made a small mistake on my last lap in second qualifying so I missed out on the top 10 which I am a bit frustrated about. But overall, to qualify in 11th for my Grand Prix debut in conditions like that is a good result which is more than I expected so I am happy with it. We'll see how it goes in the race tomorrow; it would be great to score points and I will be doing my best to achieve that."
Pascal Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis
"A qualifying session of almost three hours is quite unique and I haven't experienced anything like it before in Formula 1. But the team and drivers performed well to stay focused and prepared through such a chaotic session. In the end we are pleased with the result, although we were targeting the front row. Both drivers did a very good job in difficult and changing conditions. Jarno showed he has the potential to score a lot of points tomorrow and we are really happy for Kamui. He missed on the top 10 by a tiny margin but 11th place in his first Formula 1 qualifying session is a great achievement, especially considering the weather. Now we are looking forward to tomorrow when the weather could play a part again, so it should be an interesting race."
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
3rd Practice: 8th, 1m 24.859s (+1.677s), 5 laps
1st Qualifying: 11th, 1m 24.621s (+1.793s), 11 laps
2nd Qualifying: 3rd, 1m 20.635s (+0.267s), 10 laps
3rd Qualifying: 4th, 1m 20.097s (+0.521s), 8 laps
"It was a very intense qualifying session. In first qualifying the only target was to keep the car on the track and try to do a reasonable lap time because the conditions were horrible, with a lot of aquaplaning. It was extremely hard and the important thing was to stay focused; we managed to get through which was the important thing. In second and third qualifying it was much better and the car was running well so I was able to push harder. I enjoyed it because we were putting in some quick lap times on the right tyres and it's good to be on the second row. It would be nice to repeat the Japanese Grand Prix podium and I will be fighting hard."
Kamui Kobayashi - Car 10, Chassis TF109-04
3rd Practice: 20th, 1m 30.259s (+7.077s), 4 laps
1st Qualifying: 7th, 1m 24.335s (+1.507s), 11 laps
2nd Qualifying: 11th, 1m 21.960s (+1.592s), 11 laps
"That was a very difficult session for my first qualifying experience in Formula 1. The conditions were really hard because from lap to lap the situation changed and there was a lot of aquaplaning. I have never driven this track in those conditions before so it was certainly not easy but the car felt good. I made a small mistake on my last lap in second qualifying so I missed out on the top 10 which I am a bit frustrated about. But overall, to qualify in 11th for my Grand Prix debut in conditions like that is a good result which is more than I expected so I am happy with it. We'll see how it goes in the race tomorrow; it would be great to score points and I will be doing my best to achieve that."
Pascal Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis
"A qualifying session of almost three hours is quite unique and I haven't experienced anything like it before in Formula 1. But the team and drivers performed well to stay focused and prepared through such a chaotic session. In the end we are pleased with the result, although we were targeting the front row. Both drivers did a very good job in difficult and changing conditions. Jarno showed he has the potential to score a lot of points tomorrow and we are really happy for Kamui. He missed on the top 10 by a tiny margin but 11th place in his first Formula 1 qualifying session is a great achievement, especially considering the weather. Now we are looking forward to tomorrow when the weather could play a part again, so it should be an interesting race."
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Toyota F1 racing blog Toyota F1 Pitlane race
04 October 2009
Toyota has 'probably lost' Kubica
Toyota has probably failed in its bid to sign Robert Kubica for next season, according to team president John Howett.
Kubica is now expected to join Renault despite the Japanese manufacturer's last ditch attempt to secure his services, leaving Toyota to re-evaluate its options for next year.
Both Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli are out of contract, but despite the Italian finishing second in Japan, Howett suggests that he is still not top of the list.
"It looks like we have probably lost Robert, so we need to look next week and really see what we finally do," Howett told the BBC.
"[Regarding Trulli] we will have to wait and see. He did a great job, but we have to look at the total season and really reconsider. It is probably less likely, but I don't think we can exclude anything.
"It really depends which way the market moves in the next couple of weeks and if somebody else arrives and we consider them a better option, we have to take them.
"Jarno did a great job here today, but we still need a little bit more for the number one."
The team, who has long been a Kimi Raikkonen admirer and has made several attempts to sign him, is believed to be interesting in hiring the Finn.
Trulli insists that his strong form in Japan was not motivated by a desire to secure a new contract with Toyota, and he remains committed to continuing in F1 for a 14th season in 2010.
"To be honest I am not looking to keep my position at Toyota," said Toyota. "I am racing for Toyota and I am racing for myself."
Glock, who sat out the Japanese Grand Prix after an accident in qualifying, is in a stronger position to remain with the team, and Howett is certain that the German will be fit to race at Interlagos in two weeks.
"Glock will be fine for Brazil," said Howett, whose team is still in contention for third in the Constructors' Championship with two races to go.
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 09:33 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Toyota has 'probably lost' Kubica
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blog: Trulli thrilled with hard-fought second
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blog: Trulli thrilled with hard-fought second
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 09:27 0 comments Links to this post
28 September 2009
Japanese Grand Prix - Preview
28.09.2009
Panasonic Toyota Racing makes the 5,000km trip from Singapore to Suzuka for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix. Following its return to the podium with Timo Glock’s second place in Singapore at the weekend, the team has the chance to continue that strong form on Formula 1’s return to Suzuka. With almost no time between the two races, Jarno Trulli and Timo will use the same specification cars that performed so well in Singapore, although there is a change of tyre compound with the soft and hard specification Bridgestone Potenza tyres in use this weekend. As its home race, the Japanese Grand Prix is of particular significance for the team, not least as the location for its first-ever pole position, in 2005. Jarno holds the record for Toyota’s best result at Suzuka, with sixth in 2006, although he went one place better than that last year at Fuji Speedway to take the team’s highest finish in Japan. With thousands of loyal Toyota fans expected to lend their support at Suzuka, the team is highly motivated to fight for the podium.
Jarno Trulli - Car 9
"I am excited to be returning to Suzuka because it is a very technical and challenging circuit which I like very much. There are a lot of high-speed corners and quick changes of direction so it is a bit like Spa in that sense and it is one of my favourite circuits. I am particularly looking forward to seeing what changes have been made to the facilities; although I am pleased the lay-out is the same with just resurfacing. Japan is the home Grand Prix for the team so I will give my all to get the best result for Toyota and our Japanese supporters. I have a special relationship with the Japanese fans so I really enjoy visiting the country; they are always so supportive and enthusiastic. It is a special atmosphere. I had a disappointing weekend in Singapore but Suzuka is a totally different track and we should be competitive there; we hope to be very strong so I hope to race well and get a result to match."
Timo Glock - Car 10
"Suzuka is a really special circuit. It is very fast and the first sector is just unbelievable in a Formula 1 car; a really enjoyable experience. It is five years since I drove a Formula 1 car at Suzuka but the lay-out hasn’t changed and I’m sure the fans will still make it a pleasure to race there. It’s a really good fun circuit to race at because not only is the lay-out so fantastic, the fans make it feel special too, especially when you are a Toyota driver. It’s not an easy track to drive and you really have to be completely concentrated to get the best lap time but this makes it so much fun. It was fantastic to finish on the podium in Singapore. I would love to be challenging for the podium again in Toyota’s home race to give something back to our team’s; that would be a great result. Standing on the podium for Toyota in Japan would be perfect."
Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal
"We are very much looking forward to our home Grand Prix. After two great years at Fuji Speedway the race returns to Suzuka this season but despite the change of venue we are equally determined to achieve a positive result. We will have a lot of encouragement from our fans, our partners and Toyota employees at this race which is very motivating for the whole team. This creates some positive pressure because we know our supporters are hoping for a strong result and we are determined to meet their expectations. Everyone back in Cologne has worked extremely hard to develop the new package we saw in Singapore and will use again in Japan. This shows we are fighting for every 10th of a second right to the end of the season."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 12:00 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Japanese Grand Prix - Preview
27 September 2009
Singapore Grand Prix - Race Round-Up
27.09.2009
Panasonic Toyota Racing returned to the podium in a dramatic Singapore Grand Prix as Timo Glock equalled his and the team's best Formula 1 result with second place. Timo took his third career podium, his second of the season, thanks to a brilliant drive from sixth on the grid under lights at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. His charge to the front started on the opening lap when, on soft compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres, he fought his way up to fifth place. Jarno, also on the soft tyres, started with a heavy fuel load and finished the first lap in 17th. Timo made his first pit stop, for more soft tyres, on lap 19 and had already moved into the podium places but a safety car two laps later interrupted the race. Jarno pitted for more soft tyres behind the safety car, resuming in 14th. After four laps of safety car the race restarted and Timo battled hard to defend his fourth position. Soon after that became third and he made his final pit stop from second place, switching to the super soft options. He continued to push hard and closed in on the race lead, while Jarno had fought his way into the top 10 before a late stop for super soft tyres. An exceptionally long race in tough conditions saw Timo take the chequered flag in a fine second place, Panasonic Toyota Racing's fourth runners-up spot and 12th podium.
Timo Glock - Car 10, Chassis TF109-05
Grid: 6th
Race Classification: 2nd (+9.634s)
Pit Stop Laps: 19, 45
"We have had a really good weekend and this is a great reward for the team. After a solid qualifying the pace was good in the race so I am really happy for the team and myself. It was important to get in front of Fernando (Alonso) on the first lap and I was disappointed I didn't do it at the start. I saw he was fighting with Mark (Webber) and I just dived in and made the pass. It paid off because after that our strategy worked well; it was the key point in my race. I was just concentrating the whole race on my speed and we didn't make any mistakes. This is a brilliant result for Toyota before the Japanese Grand Prix. It's important for everyone in the team; the mechanics and engineers as well as the people back home in Cologne and in Japan. The car worked well today with the new package and I hope we can be competitive again in Suzuka."
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
Grid: 14th
Race Classification: 12th (+1m 13.009s)
Pit Stop Laps: 21, 51
"It was a really tough race and not much went right for me. As soon as I got out of the traffic the safety car came at the wrong moment for me; right when I was passing through the pits for my first stop. I wasn't particularly competitive all weekend and I was struggling with traction so we have to take a look at that. But on the positive side Timo's second place is a great result for the team, who really deserve it. Timo drove a great race and I am happy for his podium; it is also good news for us in the Constructors' Championship."
Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal
"I am extremely happy to be back on the podium and fighting at the front again. Timo did a fantastic job this weekend, as did the entire team. Everything went perfectly with Timo today; his pit stops were very good and he drove very well. Jarno did his best but unfortunately it was always going to be difficult after qualifying. To be on the podium again is a particularly satisfying result coming just a few days before our home Grand Prix in Japan. Suzuka should be more suited to our car than Singapore so we can expect to be very competitive there as well. I would like to thank the team for their hard work in getting such a great result and I am looking forward to another strong performance next weekend."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 20:52 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Singapore Grand Prix - Race Round-Up
Singapore Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
Panasonic Toyota Racing had a mixed night in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix on the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Starting at 10pm local time and in 31°C heat, Formula 1's only night-time qualifying session saw Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock take their updated TF109s to the Singapore streets. Both drivers started first qualifying on the soft compound Bridgestone Potenza tyre before switching to the super soft option for a final flying lap in the closing seconds. Jarno, who lost some time in morning practice due to an exhaust problem, set the fastest third sector of the session to progress while Timo was close behind and also reached second qualifying. Again using the super soft tyre, Jarno struggled for grip and missed out while Timo went from strength to strength to reach the top 10. In third qualifying Timo, again on the super soft tyres, was fighting towards the front when a late red flag prematurely ended his final flying lap and left him seventh in the standings, although a penalty for Rubens Barrichello means he will start sixth.
Timo Glock - Car 10, Chassis TF109-05
3rd Practice: 8th, 1m 48.673s (+1.041s), 17 laps
1st Qualifying: 15th, 1m 47.770s (+0.793s), 7 laps
2nd Qualifying: 5th, 1m 46.707s (+0.510s), 6 laps
3rd Qualifying: 7th*, 1m 49.180s (+1.289), 5 laps
*6th on provisional grid
"I am happy to be back in the top 10 again. I like this track and I feel confident in the car set-up here. The sessions went well generally; particularly in second qualifying when I was straightaway a second faster than I had been in the first session. The car felt really good and it was nice to get through to third qualifying. My lap was okay in that session but I was on used options and they were a bit worn out. I was really looking forward to my last run on new options but the red flag destroyed it. I know I could have improved my lap time and who knows where that would have put me. But in the end I start from sixth so it looks pretty good. I hope we can have a clean first lap then try to finish in the top six. I will be fighting for as many points as possible."
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
3rd Practice: 10th, 1m 48.757s (+1.125s), 12 laps
1st Qualifying: 13th, 1m 47.690s (+0.713s), 7 laps
2nd Qualifying: 15th, 1m 47.413s (+1.216s), 6 laps
"The main problem for me was a lack of grip. The track conditions seem like they have improved but we couldn't improve our lap times enough from yesterday. I am not sure why because Timo looked strong but I just had no grip at all. The car didn't feel particularly good so we didn't quite get it right today unfortunately. Anything can happen in the race tomorrow and I will fight as hard as I can but it will be difficult to score points from 15th."
Pascal Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis
"As expected we are stronger here in Singapore than we were at the last race so it is disappointing not to get both cars into the top 10. Timo did a good job to get through first and second qualifying. In the end we are a bit frustrated that the final session ended early due to the red flag because he didn't have the chance to use his final set of new options so there was an opportunity to qualify even higher. The target for Timo is clearly a strong points finish but the race will be harder for Jarno. We need to analyse the grip problems he had and we will see what we can do with our strategy to recover some positions."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 11:29 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Singapore Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
14 September 2009
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blog: Italian Grand Prix - Toyota Race Round-Up
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blog: Italian Grand Prix - Toyota Race Round-Up
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 11:05 0 comments Links to this post
07 September 2009
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blog: Italian Grand Prix - Toyota Preview
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blog: Italian Grand Prix - Toyota Preview
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 19:05 0 comments Links to this post
01 September 2009
Belgian Grand Prix - Arai Report for Toyota
Thank you for your support over the weekend. After a four-week vacation, the F1 World Championship was back with two races in as many weeks. On the heels of last week’s European Grand Prix in Valencia, this weekend we were at Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian GP. Spa-Francorchamps is actually quite close to Cologne, home of the TMG factory. As with the German GP, we are always a little more on edge at a race so close to our second home. So, without further ado, here is my report from the Belgian GP.
The TF109 aero profile is quite compatible with Spa; even higher expectations for a strong result
Spa is a unique circuit among those on the schedule this year, featuring the famous “Eau Rouge” corner where lateral G forces are combined with vertical G forces. The TF109, however, has been made from the start to race at circuits like Spa without any special considerations. The team brought a low-downforce specification to the Belgian Grand Prix.
The European GP was very disappointing, particularly because we weren’t able to show how strong we truly are as a team. Looking at the lap times during the actual race, we knew our car had every bit as much pace as the others. The issue was not being able to maximize the potential of the car during qualifying.
Spa-Francorchamps was the stage for the Belgian GP. With several mid- to high-speed corners distributed throughout, Spa is considered to be a technically challenging circuit. To run fast here, a team must come to the race with a highly refined aero setup. We struggled with lack of grip at the Valencia street circuit, but Spa-Francorchamps is a circuit particularly compatible with the aerodynamic advantages inherent in the TF109. We came to Belgium expecting to be able to turn in a very strong performance.
Racing for the second consecutive weekend, we didn’t make any significant changes to the car, but we did bring a new rear wing developed specifically for Spa. The front wing had also been designed specifically for this circuit, but we actually produced and used it earlier than planned in the prior week’s European GP. This race was the second using this particular front wing design.
Braving the “Spa Weather,” we take the top two times on Day One
Taking the lessons learned in Valencia, the team changed its approach to free practice, collecting much more data. Both cars were able to record top times, making for a solid first day of practice. Even so, there were still areas to improve on Jarno and Timo’s cars, and the team was braced for more work prior to qualifying.
As forecast, the rains fell on Spa-Francorchamps Friday morning. Jarno (Trulli) recorded the top time during the first practice session in the 30-minute window prior to the rain, but we weren’t sure of the true value of that time. But considering that Jarno’s lap time of 1:49.675 out of the gate Friday morning was almost identical to his best time during the first practice session last year, we went into Friday afternoon practice feeling somewhat reassured about the condition of the car.
Out of the 90 minutes of the morning session on Friday, 60 minutes were conducted under wet conditions. We changed our program accordingly as a dry track greeted us for the afternoon practice session. Even so, we were able to get through almost all of the program steps we had planned for the first day of the weekend. Somewhere during the process of collecting data, Timo (Glock) and Jarno were able to score P2 and P7 on the time charts, respectively, giving us solid momentum going into Saturday and Sunday. Our car was quick in Valencia, too, but we were well aware of the fact that we weren’t able to fully demonstrate our true speed in qualifying at the European GP. While Timo’s Session 2 time was ultimately bested, we felt that being within .01 seconds of the fastest time was a good showing, especially considering the track conditions under which Timo recorded his time.
Our setup was still incomplete at that point, leaving many areas to improve. Specifically, we were fast through Sector 2, but we were losing time in Turn 1 and at the exit of the chicane. We continued to coordinate with the TMG factory throughout Friday, determined to take measures that would put both of our cars in the top 10 on the grid come Sunday afternoon.
Both cars advance to Q3 for the first time in four races; Jarno secures P2, just 0.087 seconds off pole
The team reduced downforce slightly for qualifying, and Jarno finished Q1, Q2 and Q3 in P2, P1 and P2, respectively. Throughout the weekend, the team took a good number of laps using a race fuel load. The car demonstrated solid performance, and expectations were high for a good result in the race.
With the car settled to a certain degree on Friday, we went into Saturday without making any changes to our aerodynamic settings. The decision appeared to be the correct one, and we were able to turn in steadily improving lap times Saturday morning. We did, however, make some late mechanical adjustments to improve stability under braking.
The other difficult choice going in to qualifying was which tire compound to use—the medium-hard or the soft. Normally, the softer of the two compounds provides better grip, and is the best choice for hot laps in qualifying; however, this weekend the softer of the two compounds produced a sensation of failing grip in the rear of the car. This unusual symptom meant that we couldn’t simply go with the softer tire as usual. Consequently, we decided to do hot laps on both the medium and soft tires during Q1 (first session of knock-out qualifying). Ultimately, the soft tires performed without any problems. With Q2 being five minutes shorter than Q1, and considering the extra time it would take to do two out laps during the session (the medium tire was likely to produce its best time in the third lap around the circuit), we chose to run both Q2 hot laps on the soft tires. Our decision worked out for the best, putting both cars into Q3 for the first time since the British GP.
Looking at the Q2 results, we decided to use the soft tires for Q3 as well. To confirm the performance of the soft tires on the fuel load we would be using at the start of the race, we tested a used set of softs at the outset of Q3 prior to running a hot lap. The drivers reported back that the soft compound performed well, so we put both cars on a fresh set of soft tires and sent them back onto the circuit.
Jarno missed pole position by the slimmest of margins, but turned in a strong attack lap according to plan. Timo would be the first to say that he wasn’t completely happy with his lap, but he still qualified P7. Having secured solid positions on the starting grid, it was the first time in quite a while that we were able to look forward to a strong race with confidence.
The Turn 1 melee and an accident in the pits combine to let a prime chance escape our grasp
Unavoidably caught up in the Turn 1 confusion, the first corner turned out to be the end of Jarno’s race. The team’s string of bad luck continued when Timo, who had successfully moved up in position, was held up in the pits due to fuel rig trouble. The disappointing weekend resulted in no championship points for the team.
With such a good starting position, the race result was all the more disappointing. By no means was Jarno’s start off the grid poor, but the fight for position in Turn 1 forced Jarno to slow. The car in front pulled up short, closing the door on Jarno and resulting in a collision. The damage to Jarno’s front wing was enough to require him to come into the pits on lap one of the race. We changed Jarno’s front wing, and loaded enough fuel to allow him to finish the race on one pit stop. Unfortunately—perhaps in connection with the front wing damage—Jarno began experiencing problems with his brakes. Taking the safer option, we brought Jarno back in to the pits, and retired the car from the race.
Meanwhile, Timo got off to a good start, weaving through the trouble in Turn 1, and pulling up to P5 right behind Jarno on the first lap. In the opening minute of the race, Timo was in a position to move up even further. As luck would have it, we had trouble with the fuel rig during Timo’s first pit stop. We had to switch over to the backup rig, losing about seven seconds in the process. By the time Timo was back out on the circuit, he had fallen to P13 and out of any chance to score championship points.
This year’s Belgian Grand Prix ended in disappointment for us, although we were able to meet our objectives in qualifying, which had been an issue for the past few races. Now, we have to put together a solid qualifying and a strong race result. The Italian Grand Prix will take place in two weeks, and Panasonic Toyota Racing will be ready to fight for a top position. Thank you for your continued support.
Noritoshi Arai at Spa-Francorchamps. The team turned in an improved qualifying performance at the Belgian Grand Prix, with both cars qualifying in the top 10. Jarno and Timo started from P2 and P7, respectively, but a string of bad luck kept the team from winning any championship points. The goal at Monza in two weeks is to link strong performances in both qualifying and race
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 11:10 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Belgian Grand Prix - Arai Report for Toyota
30 August 2009
Trulli vows to push for Toyota's first win
Jarno Trulli says he will go all out to score Toyota’s maiden Formula 1 victory after claiming a front-row starting berth for the Belgian Grand Prix, the Italian admitting the team "needs" to end its barren run.
Just a week after struggling on the streets of Valencia, Toyota had run towards the front on the higher-speed Spa circuit throughout practice before Trulli topped low-fuel Q2 before being pipped to pole by surprise fastest man Giancarlo Fisichella in the Force India.
With Toyota’s Formula 1 long-term future having again been at the centre of increased speculation over the past week, Trulli hinted that finally claiming the team’s first win in its eighth season was desperately needed.
Indeed he believes that the TF109 is strong enough to do just that on Sunday.
“I will just go out and do my best,” Trulli said.
“I know we can win the race and I will really be pushing really, really hard because the team needs this win.”
Trulli will start towards the head of an unusual-looking front of the grid, with Force India and BMW also having shown unexpectedly strong pace while the recent front-runners struggled.
But while he admits a podium finish may be enough for Fisichella and third-placed Nick Heidfeld, he admits Toyota’s Japanese board will be expecting no less than a win from second on the grid.
“A podium finish for all three [of us] would be a good position definitely,” he said.
“For me, I have another goal because a podium wont be enough, especially to make the Japanese happy – they want to win and I want to give them that win.
“That’s all I’m thinking about, so I will try really hard.”
After showing consistency strong speed in the opening four flyaway rounds of the campaign, Toyota has experienced wildly fluctuating fortunes in recent months with Trulli failing to get out of Q1 in Valencia just seven days ago.
However, he says the team has felt the TF109 was well-suited to the high-speed demands of Spa from first practice – adding that that the fact he has run with high levels of fuel for most of the weekend has left him optimistic for the race.
"We have always known that when things go right we have a very competitive car and all weekend we have looked extremely strong," Trulli added.
"In qualifying I was always in the top two, even though in first qualifying I took it a bit easy.
"We dropped the downforce a bit yesterday and spent most of the time balancing the car.
Then we made a small change to the set-up this morning so I had better handling and traction for qualifying and it worked well.
"Also, I spent most of the weekend driving on race fuel so I am very happy with how things have turned out and it is looking pretty good for tomorrow."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 11:09 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Trulli vows to push for Toyota's first win
28 August 2009
Belgian Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
Panasonic Toyota Racing was back on track again today just five days after the European Grand Prix, with the first practice sessions at Spa-Francorchamps. The classic track, venue for this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, is located just over an hour's drive from the team's technical centre in Cologne, Germany and the weekend started positively for the local team. Spa is famed for changeable weather and that reputation was enhanced in first practice when clouds gathered and rain fell a few minutes in. By that time Jarno Trulli had already set a flying lap, unlike team-mate Timo Glock. With no improvement in conditions, both drivers took to the track later in the session on wet Bridgestone Potenza tyres, gathering information about the TF109's handling in rain. By virtue of his early lap on a dry track, Jarno was fastest but Timo's only timed laps came in the wet, leaving him down the order. Afternoon sun dried the track for second practice, allowing both drivers to concentrate on evaluating the revised front and rear wings which the team is using at Spa as part of its low-downforce aerodynamic package. In addition, comparison runs between the medium and soft tyres were carried out with Timo ending the day an impressive second fastest and Jarno also in the top eight.
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
1st Practice: 1st, 1m 49.675s, 13 laps
2nd Practice: 7th, 1m 47.559s (+0.358s), 33 laps
"It was a good Friday for us. Obviously there is still work to do to get the most out of the car and I need to find a bit more grip at the rear end but all in all I am very happy with the results today. I have a good feeling from the car so I hope it will be a competitive weekend for us. The track was wet this morning which meant we couldn't do all of the tests we had planned but we did some laps to better understand the car in those conditions. In the afternoon, when it was dry, the track just got quicker and quicker. I was working mainly on race pace today, getting the car set-up in race trim so we have a good balance for Sunday, and it seems to be reacting well."
Timo Glock - Car 10, Chassis TF109-05
1st Practice: 18th, 2m 06.331s (+16.656s), 15 laps
2nd Practice: 2nd, 1m 47.217s (+0.016s), 29 laps
"Whenever you come back to Spa it is a nice experience to do your first laps of the weekend and that was the case again today. It's a great circuit and very satisfying for a driver, especially when you have a competitive car. It's hard to draw any conclusions from the wet session this morning but I am pleased to be second in the afternoon; that is very encouraging. The car felt pretty good and the lap times show that. Still, there are a couple of areas to improve so we will work on those before qualifying and try to find the perfect aerodynamic balance. I am happy with how things went today and I'm interested to see where we are tomorrow."
Dieter Gass - Chief Engineer Race and Test
"Overall it has been a positive day for us. It was a bit unfortunate that the first session was disrupted by wet conditions because dry weather is forecast for the rest of the weekend, so we lost some time to work on the car. In the afternoon we were mainly concentrating on assessing the revised aerodynamic package we have brought to this race. We also looked at the tyres and both specifications seem to be behaving okay. We anticipated some warm-up issues but that doesn't seem to be the case. In general we are quite happy with what we have seen so far so we are looking forward with optimism to the rest of the weekend."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 18:23 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Belgian Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blog: Toyota's Trulli sets pace in rain-hit practice
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blog: Toyota's Trulli sets pace in rain-hit practice
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 10:48 0 comments Links to this post
26 August 2009
Toyota blames qualifying for struggles
Toyota's technical chief Pascal Vasselon is convinced his team's recent struggles are only related to its problems in qualifying.
The Japanese squad started the season strongly and aiming to score its first Formula 1 victory, but has seen its hopes dashes after dropping down the order.
Toyota has scored just six points in the last four races and is now fifth in the standings.
Neither Jarno Trulli nor Timo Glock have qualified in the top ten in the last three events, although Glock set the fastest lap of the race in Valencia last Sunday.
Vasselon believes the team has no problems with its race pace, and that it's only qualifying that needs sorted.
"The primary reason is obviously the qualifying pace, because Timo set the fastest lap of the race," Vasselon said. "And it wasn't just one lap, all his lap times has been consistently extremely fast, so the problem is clearly the qualifying times.
"Only Hamilton was probably faster than Timo in the race. So it's difficult to understand exactly what is going on."
He added: "We are obviously in trouble, because as long as we don't qualify in the top ten it's going to be very difficult. I would say we are in trouble, we are not happy with the situation. We are basically questioning everything.
"The only light we see is the race pace, because we are not just decent, we are quick. In Budapest and here we are talking about being the second fastest car, with only Hamilton possibly better. That's what gives us a little bit of hope.
"We still have hope to find the problem, because we see we have potential."
The Frenchman conceded the results at fast tracks like Spa and Monza will only depend on its performance in qualifying, as he reckons Toyota's car can adapt to most circuits.
"Our performance will depend on our capacity to fix our qualifying problems. We have to fix the problem," he said.
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 12:06 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Toyota blames qualifying for struggles
Belgian Grand Prix Technical Preview
Technical Preview - Rd.12 Belgian Grand Prix
Q+A with Pascal Vasselon
Why is Spa so special?
For most of the drivers Spa is probably the best circuit in the world, with only Suzuka coming close. The reason for this is that Spa is one of the last natural circuits left in Formula 1, which means the lay-out is not artificial and it is dictated by the surroundings. Then you have the countryside around Spa, with the hills and forests which create a wonderful atmosphere. The other reason is that it is a fast circuit; drivers and spectators are fascinated by speed. Apart from Monaco, which is an exception to the rule, I have never heard a driver excited about a low-speed circuit. The combination of these factors makes it a really special circuit.
Is it still magical, even after the recent changes?
The Spa circuit has a long history and you could argue that it lost some of its magic with the big change in the late 1970s, when it went from being a very long circuit a little bit like the Nürburgring Nordschleife to the lay-out we know now. That first lay-out just seems crazy to us now because cars were going flat-out through villages and the safety standards were very far away from what we are used to today. At the time it was a magical place but it had to change. The current generation of Spa lay-out was adjusted recently but that did not really change the nature of the circuit and the attraction of the track has not been diluted at all.
What about Eau Rouge?
It is a fantastic corner because you have changes of curvature in all directions; you go left and right but also down and up at the same time. This combination makes it unique but I have to say it has lost a bit of its magic now that it is easily flat out. We expect it to remain flat out in the dry this season even considering the aerodynamic changes, largely because the slick tyres compensate for the loss of downforce with increased grip. But where Eau Rouge regains its magic is in the rain; to watch a Formula 1 car through there on a wet track is just unbelievable. It is especially impressive if you have watched other types of car go through the corner in similar conditions because the Formula 1 cars are massively faster.
How important is Eau Rouge to the whole lap? Is it important or just another corner?
It is no longer a place where you could win or lose a second a lap as could have been the case in the past before it was flat out. It is not a straight, obviously, but considering it is flat out you largely treat it as such. Still, you have to take this corner into account to some extent when you think about set-ups because you want to avoid bottoming, so it has some influence.
What forces does a car experience through Eau Rouge?
We design the car to resist the most extreme loading conditions and Eau Rouge is one of the factors we have to take into account because you combine very high vertical acceleration, because of the compression, with a very high lateral load. These factors are not surpassed anywhere else in the season so our cars, particularly the suspension, are designed to cope specifically with the forces generated through Eau Rouge.
How demanding is Spa on the engines?
It is simply the most important track of the year for engines, even more so than Monza. That is because at Spa you have high-speed engine limited corners as well as long straights, whereas at Monza you only have long straights and slow chicanes. As a result we are planning to use a new engine in both cars for this race.
Is there any part of the car which isn’t under severe stress at Spa?
The braking severity is below average and this is really the only system that is not stretched too much.
How much of a factor is the potential for bad weather?
At Spa it is possible to be in a situation where you develop a wet set-up and we did this in 2005 when rain on Sunday was an absolute certainty. Even when the weather seems reasonable at Spa you have to be prepared for anything. But don’t think that Spa cannot offer very good weather. I live close to there and the number of nice sunny days is actually very high; its reputation is exaggerated!
Will the team have any upgrades for the Belgian Grand Prix?
This season Spa and Monza are the two circuits which stand out as requiring a lower downforce package so we have taken that into account. As a result we have a special package for these two races, meaning revised front and rear wings as well as other aerodynamic changes.
What is the team doing to address the recent difference between qualifying and race pace?
Timo set the fastest race lap in Valencia and that was not a one-off; if you go through all the lap times he was consistently fast but we clearly have an issue with qualifying pace. We are not happy with this situation and we are looking into every area – tyre handling, set-up, how we prepare for qualifying - to get more from the car over one lap. We are studying every factor which could explain why we have more relative pace in the race compared to qualifying and we will take whatever action is necessary.
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 09:20 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Belgian Grand Prix Technical Preview
23 August 2009
European Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
Panasonic Toyota Racing endured an afternoon of frustration in qualifying for the European Grand Prix on the streets of Valencia, Spain today. After a disrupted morning practice, in which around 28 minutes were lost due to a red flag for oil on the track, qualifying began under blue skies with air temperatures of 31°C and track temperatures hitting 47°C. In common with recent qualifying sessions, a close fight was expected and the competition was as hot as the conditions on the 5.419km street track around Valencia's America's Cup harbour. Both Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock started first qualifying using the soft compound Bridgestone Potenza tyre but switched to the super soft option for a final stint on low fuel. Timo saved his best for last and progressed thanks to a battling final flying lap but Jarno, who crossed the line just in front of his team-mate, missed out. Timo again used the super soft tyres for his fastest flying laps in second qualifying and ended the session 13th, just 0.209secs outside of the top 10.
Timo Glock - Car 10, Chassis TF109-05
3rd Practice: 16th, 1m 40.443s (+1.300s), 10 laps
1st Qualifying: 15th, 1m 39.459s (+0.928s), 9 laps
2nd Qualifying: 13th, 1m 38.991s (+0.915s), 6 laps
"That wasn't a good result. We struggled a bit for pace this morning in the short third practice and in the end we were just a couple of tenths away from being in the top 10, which is a pity. I was having trouble in first qualifying but in the second session the car wasn't too bad until the final corners when the rear tyres dropped off quite a lot. I was pushing to the maximum but the tyres didn't really survive. So we have to start again from 13th as we did in Hungary and try to repeat what we did there by finding a way to get into the points. It will be a difficult task but I will do everything I can."
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
3rd Practice: 9th, 1m 40.017s (+0.874s), 11 laps
1st Qualifying: 18th, 1m 39.807s (+1.276s), 10 laps
"I was expecting qualifying to be a bit difficult but not as bad as that. This morning the car felt reasonable even if we were a little short of grip. But it was much worse in qualifying; I really had no grip and there was nothing I could do. I just kept pushing and took a few more risks than normal but it didn't work out. I don't know why we struggled so much; it is a mystery to me. For the race tomorrow I can just do my best and see what happens."
Pascal Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis
"We can only be unhappy about that result as it is another extremely disappointing qualifying for us. In the last races we have shown that our race pace is better and gives us a chance to move up the field, although obviously that will be tough. Now we have to take a close look at all our options to see how we can fight back as we did in Hungary. Track conditions are changing continuously so we will look at the effect of that on the tyres for the race and try to make the best of it."
Free Practice 1 Free Practice 2 Free Practice 3 Qualify Race Pos. No. Driver Team
Time Laps
1 23 R. Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team 1:42.460 19
2 2 H. Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:42.636 16
3 1 L. Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:42.654 18
4 22 J. Button Brawn GP Formula One Team 1:43.074 19
5 15 S. Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:43.088 17
6 20 A. Sutil Force India F1 Team 1:43.209 13
7 17 K. Nakajima AT&T Williams 1:43.225 25
8 14 M. Webber Red Bull Racing 1:43.243 19
9 7 F. Alonso ING Renault F1 Team 1:43.345 18
10 4 K. Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:43.384 23
11 12 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:43.389 30
12 5 R. Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team 1:43.419 20
13 11 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:43.637 30
14 16 N. Rosberg AT&T Williams 1:43.746 22
15 6 N. Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team 1:44.040 23
16 21 G. Fisichella Force India F1 Team 1:44.126 17
17 8 R. Grosjean ING Renault F1 Team 1:44.356 23
18 9 J. Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:44.638 26
19 10 T. Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:44.732 28
20 3 L. Badoer Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:45.840 25
Pos. No. Driver Team Time Laps
1 7 F. Alonso ING Renault F1 Team 1:39.404 33
2 22 J. Button Brawn GP Formula One Team 1:40.178 33
3 23 R. Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team 1:40.209 34
4 16 N. Rosberg AT&T Williams 1:40.385 39
5 17 K. Nakajima AT&T Williams 1:40.503 35
6 20 A. Sutil Force India F1 Team 1:40.596 23
7 5 R. Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team 1:40.643 34
8 21 G. Fisichella Force India F1 Team 1:40.681 31
9 15 S. Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:40.723 33
10 2 H. Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:40.738 31
11 4 K. Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:40.739 39
12 9 J. Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:40.770 32
13 8 R. Grosjean ING Renault F1 Team 1:40.787 35
14 14 M. Webber Red Bull Racing 1:40.956 37
15 10 T. Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:40.985 30
16 12 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:41.156 34
17 6 N. Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team 1:41.350 29
18 3 L. Badoer Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:42.017 37
19 11 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:42.089 34
20 1 L. Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:43.214 3
Pos. No. Driver Team Time Laps
1 20 A. Sutil Force India F1 Team 1:39.143 12
2 17 K. Nakajima AT&T Williams 1:39.247 12
3 5 R. Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team 1:39.513 12
4 2 H. Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:39.553 8
5 16 N. Rosberg AT&T Williams 1:39.732 11
6 21 G. Fisichella Force India F1 Team 1:39.764 12
7 22 J. Button Brawn GP Formula One Team 1:39.883 10
8 1 L. Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:39.950 12
9 9 J. Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:40.017 11
10 8 R. Grosjean ING Renault F1 Team 1:40.088 11
11 12 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:40.118 12
12 23 R. Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team 1:40.192 10
13 6 N. Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team 1:40.230 12
14 4 K. Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:40.260 12
15 7 F. Alonso ING Renault F1 Team 1:40.402 9
16 10 T. Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:40.443 10
17 14 M. Webber Red Bull Racing 1:40.879 10
18 15 S. Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:40.916 6
19 11 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:41.125 12
20 3 L. Badoer Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:42.198 14
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 09:24 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: European Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
22 August 2009
Trulli shocked by Q1 exit
Jarno Trulli admitted he was taken aback by his Toyota’s poor performance in Valencia qualifying after being eliminated at the first knockout stage.
The Italian veteran, renowned as a qualifying specialist, wound up 18th on the grid and was baffled by the TF109’s chronic lack of grip.
“I was expecting qualifying to be a bit difficult but not as bad as that,” he said.
“This morning the car felt reasonable even if we were a little short of grip.
“But it was much worse in qualifying; I really had no grip and there was nothing I could do.
“I just kept pushing and took a few more risks than normal but it didn't work out.
“I don't know why we struggled so much; it is a mystery to me.
"For the race tomorrow I can just do my best and see what happens.”
Team-mate Timo Glock fared somewhat better, qualifying 13th after struggling with rear tyre degradation towards the end of his flying lap.
“That wasn't a good result,” summarised the German.
“We struggled a bit for pace this morning in the short third practice and in the end we were just a couple of tenths away from being in the top 10, which is a pity.
“I was having trouble in first qualifying but in the second session the car wasn't too bad until the final corners when the rear tyres dropped off quite a lot.
“I was pushing to the maximum but the tyres didn't really survive.”
Having made several impressive charges on heavy fuel loads so far this season, Glock has not given up hope of scoring points in Sunday’s race.
“We have to start again from 13th as we did in Hungary and try to repeat what we did there by finding a way to get into the points,” he said.
“It will be a difficult task but I will do everything I can.”
Chassis chief Pascal Vasselon made no attempt to sugar-coat the team’s poor showing, but noted that its race pace has been solid in recent events.
“We can only be unhappy about that result as it is another extremely disappointing qualifying for us,” said the Frenchman.
“In the last races we have shown that our race pace is better and gives us a chance to move up the field, although obviously that will be tough.
“Now we have to take a close look at all our options to see how we can fight back as we did in Hungary.
“Track conditions are changing continuously so we will look at the effect of that on the tyres for the race and try to make the best of it.”
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 16:25 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Trulli shocked by Q1 exit
21 August 2009
European Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
Panasonic Toyota Racing was back in action today after the four-week summer break with the first practice sessions for the European Grand Prix on the streets of Valencia in Spain. Under clear blue skies and a hot summer sun temperatures soared, reaching 30°C and creating track temperatures of 50°C. But both Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock had worked out during the break, as well as relaxing among family and friends, so they were prepared for the challenge. A trouble-free morning session saw both drivers evaluate front wing options while gather information on the soft compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres, with the track surface still relatively dusty. Further set-up evaluations took place in the afternoon as the track conditions improved, along with comparison runs to fully understand both the soft and super soft tyres available this weekend. That also ended without incident and the team has plenty of information to work with to maximise the potential of the TF109 in qualifying tomorrow.
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
1st Practice: 18th, 1m 44.638s (+2.178s), 26 laps
2nd Practice: 12th, 1m 40.770s (+1.366s), 32 laps
"First of all it is very nice to be back in the car after a long summer break. I am also pleased to be here in the good weather and at a nice track. Basically today was a normal Friday for us without any exceptional situations. Everything went smoothly and we had no troubles so we were able to evaluate the tyres and the set-ups to make sure we are prepared for the rest of the weekend. We still have some work to do to make the most of our car but it is difficult to see a true picture of where stand after practice as you never know exactly what programmes other teams are working on. The car feels okay but we will work to get more performance from it."
Timo Glock - Car 10, Chassis TF109-05
1st Practice: 19th, 1m 44.732s (+2.272s), 28 laps
2nd Practice: 15th, 1m 40.985s (+1.581s), 30 laps
"That was a pretty good day for me overall. The car feels quite positive and balanced which is a promising start to the weekend and we successfully ran through our whole programme. We planned a lot of work today but there were no technical issues and the guys all did a good job so now we have a lot of data to look at overnight. The task now is to fine-tune the car for tomorrow and the race; hopefully we can be strong. It's hard to predict what the order is at the moment because the lap times are close but we will do our best."
Dieter Gass - Chief Engineer Race and Test
"We had some new parts to test throughout the day and we collected plenty of data so we are in a position to make the right choice for tomorrow. This track is not used regularly and as a result we saw a really big circuit evolution, especially in the morning session. Due to our busy programme we had to go out early in that session to complete all our work and on the green track we damaged our tyres. That made first practice a little harder than expected but everything came back to normal in the afternoon. Even though the circuit continued to evolve, the tyres behaved a lot better than in first practice because there was more rubber on the track. We seem to be in a situation where both compounds will be workable for the race without major problems."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 19:04 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: European Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
18 August 2009
European Grand Prix - Toyota Preview
Panasonic Toyota Racing hits the Spanish streets this weekend for the European Grand Prix in Valencia after a four-week summer break. This year marks the second running of the race around Valencia's Americas Cup port, on a circuit which includes a bridge across the harbour and a super-fast second sector where cars hit over 315km/h. The team has happy memories of Valencia, having excelled there last year when Jarno Trulli finished fifth and Timo Glock, despite a heavy cold, took seventh. With the TF109 showing itself to be a step forward on the TF108, hopes are high for a similarly strong performance this weekend. As with the Hungarian Grand Prix three weeks ago, the team again uses the super soft and soft Bridgestone Potenza tyres, making it three consecutive races where the softest compound in the range has been utilised. Having achieved a double points finish thanks to its strong race performance in Hungary on these tyres, the team is confident of another extremely competitive weekend.
Jarno Trulli - Car 9
"I am really glad to be racing again; it's great to have some time off to relax with my family but my passion is racing so it's good to be getting back to the track. It seems like a long time since the last race so everyone in the team is fired up to come out fighting this weekend. Valencia is not such an exciting circuit for me but that doesn't matter so much if we are strong, which we were last year on this track. Unlike somewhere like Monaco, Valencia is actually very fast for a street circuit so that should suit our car pretty well. In fact, it doesn't really feel much like a street circuit at all because it is so much faster than other city tracks. We were in the top six last year in Valencia and that is my target this season. It was good to have both cars in the points in Hungary. The Valencia track has a different character so it's difficult to predict at this stage but my target is to score as many points as possible."
Timo Glock - Car 10
"I really enjoy street circuits and I generally perform very well on them. Valencia was tricky last year for me because I had a bad cold and it was a real challenge just to finish the race, so I didn't enjoy the weekend as much as I could have. This year I am determined to really have fun in the car and hopefully finish even higher than I managed in 2008. We know from last year that overtaking is very difficult on this track so qualifying will be particularly important, which is a similar situation to the previous race in Hungary. After finishing in the top six from 13th on the grid in Budapest, my goal this weekend is to start as high as possible and give myself the best chance for a good result in the race. I had a relaxing time over the summer break but I also did some fitness work as well and I never stop thinking about racing so I am well prepared for this race."
Pascal Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis
"Valencia is by definition a street circuit as the track is based on public roads but in many ways it is different to more typical street circuits like Monaco or Singapore. It is a relatively high-speed track with very long straights; therefore the aerodynamic efficiency requirements are completely different to other street tracks. Unlike Monaco or Singapore, you are not aiming for high downforce, we are looking in the middle of the range, and it is extremely tough on brakes. But in other ways it is still recognisably a street circuit as the barriers are quite close so there is little margin for error. We are confident for this Grand Prix because the circuit corresponds to what appears to be the best aerodynamic efficiency window for our car and we went well there last year. So we are really looking forward to racing again after the summer break and we expect a positive result."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:21 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: European Grand Prix - Toyota Preview
Toyota moves to deny quit rumours
Toyota has moved to deny speculation that it is poised to follow BMW out of Formula 1 at the end of 2009.
Amid widespread suggestions that BMW's departure from the sport will be followed by another manufacturer imminently, rumours have revolved around Toyota.
This has been prompted by the fact that Toyota has not yet signed the Concorde Agreement that would tie it to F1, and the team's F1 president John Howett is in Japan at the moment discussing strategy with the Japanese car manufacturer's chiefs.
However, a spokesman for the Toyota Motor Corporation has dismissed any talk that Toyota is considering its future in F1, with its Concorde Agreement signature expected to be confirmed in the next few days.
"Through cost reduction we will continue our Formula 1 activities," said the spokesman. "Our situation remains unchanged."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:15 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Toyota moves to deny quit rumours
Q and A with Timo Glock
Conducted and provided by Toyota's press office.
Q. Are you happy with sixth place in the Hungarian Grand Prix?
Timo Glock: I am happy with the result in the end, especially considering I started from 13th. To make up seven places at the Hungaroring is not easy, so finishing in sixth is an encouraging result. It was nice to be back in the top six after a few tricky races and this was actually my best result since the podium in Malaysia.
Q. Was it a surprise to finish the race in the top six?
TG: On Saturday I could not have predicted a result like that but the team, like me and Jarno, never give up and they worked really hard to give us both the chance to finish in the points. Our strategy was excellent but a lot of credit goes to my pit crew as well because they did a great job all through the weekend, especially on Saturday when we needed to make some repairs very quickly. Then in the race my pit stops were perfect, which really makes a difference when you are in a close fight for position. Overall it was good team work from everyone and we got our reward.
Q. Realistically, was sixth the best possible result?
TG: We could definitely have been fifth because we had really strong pace throughout the race and I finished directly behind Heikki Kovalainen. However, as you always expect at this track, there was some traffic and that cost me time at the end of my first two stints. Kimi (Raikkonen) came out of the pits just ahead of me both times and, as he had more fuel than I did, he was slower than me. I was able to go quite a bit quicker but overtaking at the Hungaroring is tricky and I just couldn't get past. Without that, I am sure I would have been able to get Kovalainen for fifth. I put in some really quick laps towards the end, including the fifth fastest race lap, and caught him but it wasn't possible to pass.
Q. How did you make up so many positions in the race?
TG: As everyone knows, it is almost impossible to overtake in Hungary so strategy is very important if you are to make up positions. I got a pretty good start and overtook (Rubens) Barrichello so I was 12th at the end of the first lap which meant it was difficult to think about the top six at that point. But we were confident our strategy would help us gain positions during the long first stint; I just had to keep fighting and setting good lap times.
Q. How did the car feel during that first stint?
TG: Obviously we were really heavy at the start of the race and, just like at the Nurburgring, I was one of the last guys to make my first pit stop. It was tricky to start with but I found a good rhythm and my lap times were strong, even though I was heavier than the cars around me. The super soft Bridgestone tyres felt really good and didn't lose performance, even though I did a lot of laps on them, so the car felt spot on.
Q. Are you happy to have a break now? What will you do?
TG: It will be nice to have some time off but I am a racing driver and I love to drive Formula 1 cars, so I would never say I am happy to be away from them! The main priority for me during the summer break is to just relax and spend time with my family and friends; normally I have very little time to do that. It will be a relief to be away from airports for a little while and I will make sure I will get plenty of rest so I am refreshed for the last part of the season. But I won't be just putting my feet up the whole time. I have some fitness work planned with my physio so I will stay in good shape and I'll be really keen to get back in the car for Valencia.
Q. What are your thoughts ahead of the European Grand Prix?
TG: We were strong last year in Valencia so I am hopeful we will be again this time too. Qualifying is an area I want to improve on because that has been a bit frustrating for me in the last couple of races. If we can get the maximum out of the car and tyres over one lap in qualifying, I am sure we will be competitive and that gives us the best chance for the race. As always, my goal is to score as many points as possible; hopefully I can finish higher than my seventh place there last year.
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:15 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Q and A with Timo Glock
Fuji withdraws from F1 schedule
The Japanese Grand Prix is facing an uncertain future after Fuji Speedway announced that it was no longer willing to hold the race.
The Toyota-owned track had been set to share the Japanese round of the World Championship with Honda's Suzuka circuit, alternating on an annual basis.
With Suzuka back on the calendar this year, Fuji was intended as the venue for the 2010 race, but the circuit announced today that it was pulling out of F1 due to the economic downturn.
"In view of the sharply deteriorating business conditions and few signs of a rapid economic recovery, we decided it would be extremely difficult to continue holding the F1 Japanese Grand Prix," said a Fuji statement.
Fuji, which hosted the first Japanese GPs in 1976 and 1977, had undergone a huge revamp to bring it up to F1 standard earlier in the decade, but is now set to exit the schedule having held just two races in the modern era.
It won the right to host the race from Suzuka and returned to the calendar in 2007, when Lewis Hamilton famously won an extraordinarily wet race.
Shortly afterwards, it was announced that Fuji and Suzuka would alternate after 2008, with Suzuka returning this season.
Fernando Alonso won last year's Fuji event, which now appears to have been the circuit's F1 swansong.
With Suzuka's owner Honda having sold its F1 team to Ross Brawn at the start of the year as it felt it could no longer be in the sport during the recession, today's news raises questions about whether Honda would be prepared to hold a GP at Suzuka every year now that it can no longer share the task with Fuji.
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:13 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Fuji withdraws from F1 schedule
German Grand Prix - Preview
Panasonic Toyota Racing makes the very short journey south of its
Cologne base for the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. Only
around 80km separates the team's technical centre from the legendary
track, which first hosted Formula 1 in 1951 and has done so 37 times,
most recently as home to the European Grand Prix. Toyota has a strong
record in qualifying at the Nürburgring, having qualified at least
one car in the top 10 on all of its six previous visits, but only
finished in the points once; Jarno Trulli's eighth place in 2005.
With another set of upgrades to the TF109 for this race, the clear
goal is to rectify that statistic with a strong points finish with
both cars. Following another top-eight finish in the British Grand
Prix at Silverstone last time out, the team has scored in six of the
eight races so far to leave it third in the Constructors'
Championship approaching the mid-point of the season. For his home
race, Timo Glock will wear a special helmet designed by a local
schoolboy, the winner of a Panasonic competition in Germany.
Read more :
http://www.toyota-f1.com/en/season/gp2009/09_germany/preview.html
for more information, please visit our website :
http://www.toyota-f1.com
Drivers Championship
1 Jenson Button Brawn GP Formula One Team 64
2 Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team 41
3 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 39
4 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 35.5
5 Jarno Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing 21.5
6 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 16
7 Nico Rosberg AT&T Williams 15.5
8 Timo Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing 13
9 Fernando Alonso ING Renault F1 Team 11
10 Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 10
11 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 9
12 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team 6
13 Heikki Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 4
14 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 3
15 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team 2
16 Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 2
17 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India F1 Team 0
18 Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 0
19 Nelsinho Piquet ING Renault F1 Team 0
20 Kazuki Nakajima AT&T Williams 0
Constructors Championship
1 Brawn GP Formula One Team 105
2 Red Bull Racing 75
3 Panasonic Toyota Racing 35
4 Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 26
5 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 16
6 AT&T Williams 13
7 ING Renault F1 Team 11
8 BMW Sauber F1 Team 8
9 Scuderia Toro Rosso 5
10 Force India F1 Team 0
---- Race Schedule (All Local Time)-----------------------------------
FORMULA 1 Round 9 Grand Prix of Germany
10th July Friday 10:00-11:30 Free Practice 1
14:00-15:30 Free Practice 2
11th July Saturday 11:00-12:00 Free Practice 3
14:00- Qualifying
12th July Sunday 14:00- Race
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:11 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: German Grand Prix - Preview
McLaren expect improvements at Monaco
McLaren has expressed confidence that its troublesome MP4-24 will be far more competitive on the twisty streets of Monaco next week than it was at the demanding Circuit de Catalunya.
The Woking squad made steady progress improving its car over the season’s opening four rounds, with Lewis Hamilton scoring its best result so far with fourth in Bahrain, but slipped way back in Spain last weekend and failed to score a point.But with Monte Carlo’s absence of fast corners meaning good traction is far more important than strong aerodynamics, McLaren believes the track will expose fewer of its cars weaknesses.
Therefore world champion Lewis Hamilton, who claimed victory in the Principality last year and who makes no secret of his love for the circuit, is expecting to be fighting further up the order.“There’s an expectation that Monaco will be another good circuit for our car package because the combination of low-speed corners and absence of any really fast stuff should suit MP4-24,” he said.
“I really hope so because it would be fantastic to have a competitive car and to be fighting at the front again.”While McLaren is optimistic of a much improved showing on its Barcelona form it is still unlikely to claim a hat-trick of Monaco wins, having also won with Fernando Alonso in 2007.
Nevertheless team boss Martin Whitmarsh says its impressive past record on the streets adds to its general belief that the weekend can be a more positive one.“Everybody at McLaren is rightfully proud of the team’s reputation around the streets of Monte Carlo,” he said.
“We have won the grand prix for the past two seasons and McLaren has triumphed here an unprecedented 15 times – more than any other Formula 1 team. “As a result, we go into the race with a greater degree of optimism than we had going into Barcelona: both Lewis and Heikki enjoy this circuit and we feel MP4-24 will be a more competitive proposition around the streets of the Principality.”Despite the circuit’s lack of long straights and passing opportunities, McLaren will continue to run its KERS device despite teams generally expecting it to give few overall benefits.Heikki Kovalainen admits he is unsure if he will be able to put the system’s power boost function to good use, but nevertheless believes it is the right decision to keep it on the car.
“We will be using KERS in Monaco and one of the questions will be whether we’ll actually be able to use it to get past other cars,” he said.“As usual, KERS will be a benefit for us, but anything can happen in Monte Carlo. “
The Finn himself is looking to improve both his fortunes from the race there in 2008 and from Spain last Sunday (when his car stopped after seven laps).“I really enjoy driving on street circuits and I’m optimistic that we’ve got a good package for Monaco,” Kovalainen added.
“Although the results don’t show it, because I was forced to start from the pitlane, I had a very strong race here last year and charged up from the back to finish eighth.“Coming off the back of a disappointing race in Spain last week, I’m more determined than ever to get a strong result under my belt.”
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:10 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: McLaren expect improvements at Monaco
Toyota F1 Spanish Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
1 J. Button Brawn GP Formula One Team
2 S. Vettel Red Bull Racing
3 R. Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team
4 F. Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
5 M. Webber Red Bull Racing
6 T. Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing
7 J. Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing
8 F. Alonso ING Renault F1 Team
Panasonic Toyota Racing will line up with both cars inside the top
eight for the Spanish Grand Prix after a closely-fought qualifying
session at the Circuit de Catalunya today. Having fine-tuned the
set-up of the TF109 overnight and in final practice, Jarno Trulli and
Timo Glock took to the track on a sunny day with a slight breeze
which saw track temperatures reach 41°C and air temperatures 21°C.
The first qualifying session was typically hectic and, after starting
with the hard Bridgestone Potenza, they made it into Q2 using the
soft options. The battle to reach the top 10 was particularly tense
but, again using the soft tyres, Jarno and Timo delivered on their
last flying laps to progress, with Timo breaking into the top three.
The final session saw three flying laps each on used soft tyres
before one final flat-out run on a new set in the closing moments,
which delivered promising grid positions for tomorrow's race.
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:08 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Toyota F1 Spanish Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
F1 Toyota's Howett wary of McLaren, Ferrari
Toyota F1 president John Howett has urged his team to remain 'paranoid' that big guns McLaren and Ferrari will come back strongly soon - despite its lock-out of the front row at the Bahrain Grand Prix.The Japanese manufacturer has had a strong start to the campaign, taking podium finishes in the first two races, and could be on the verge of a maiden victory at Sakhir after Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock took the first two places on the grid.
With the performance of the TF109 pointing towards a potential title challenge, Howett wants his team to remain cautious."We are in the top three definitely," he told AUTOSPORT. "There is no question about that. We have got to be paranoid that the McLaren and Ferraris are recovering very strongly. But we have got to keep pushing and have confidence. If we can get a really strong result it will help."
Toyota's promising start to the year has eased speculation that the Japanese manufacturer could pull out of F1 – although Howett has reiterated that its future will not be totally secure until it scores a maiden victory."I think in the end Toyota is a winning company – we use the brand slogans on the back of our car relative to the market," he said.
"They are all about pushing the limits and winning. That is the culture in the company. We will never rest until we win, and then we need to win, and then we need to win for half the cost."Howett is refusing to take anything for granted about Toyota's chances for the Bahrain Grand Prix, even though the team appears to have the pace to beat its rivals.
"I am really happy – but qualifying is qualifying. It is only one step to winning. You need to qualify well but now we have got to focus on having a great race and capitalising on the advantage. Until we are there, don't get complacent."He added: "Yes, the car is quick. Relative to Brawn and Red Bull, I think it is very, very tight. And you can see some of the others catching up now. So, it means no sleep."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:07 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: F1 Toyota's Howett wary of McLaren, Ferrari
Toyota Bahrain Grand Prix - Preview F1 2009
Panasonic Toyota Racing returns to action swiftly after the Chinese
Grand Prix with a trip to the Middle East for the Bahrain Grand Prix
on the Bahrain International Circuit at Sakhir. The team benefits
from extensive recent experience of the track with the TF109, having
spent two weeks testing there in February, completing 3,847km over
711 laps. Toyota has scored points in every race so far this season,
with Timo Glock claiming a fighting seventh place in China on a day
when Jarno Trulli was eliminated after being hit from behind by a
rival. This weekend the team will again use the super soft and
medium compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres, having previously used
these in both China and Australia. Toyota has a strong record in
Bahrain and already has experience of the podium there following
Jarno's second place in 2005. More recently, Jarno finished sixth
there last year while Timo was ninth after a late gearbox issue
denied him points.
Read more :
http://www.toyota-f1.com/en/season/gp2009/04_bahrain/preview.html
for more information, please visit our website :
http://www.toyota-f1.com
Drivers Championship
1 Jenson Button Brawn GP Formula One Team 21
2 Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team 15
3 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 10
4 Timo Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing 10
5 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 9.5
6 Jarno Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing 8.5
7 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team 4
8 Fernando Alonso ING Renault F1 Team 4
9 Heikki Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 4
10 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 4
11 Nico Rosberg AT&T Williams 3.5
12 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 3
13 Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1
14 Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 0
15 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 0
16 Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 0
17 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India F1 Team 0
18 Kazuki Nakajima AT&T Williams 0
19 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team 0
20 Nelsinho Piquet ING Renault F1 Team 0
Constructors Championship
1 Brawn GP Formula One Team 36
2 Red Bull Racing 19.5
3 Panasonic Toyota Racing 18.5
4 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 8
5 BMW Sauber F1 Team 4
6 ING Renault F1 Team 4
7 Scuderia Toro Rosso 4
8 AT&T Williams 3.5
9 Force India F1 Team 0
10 Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 0
---- Race Schedule (All Local Time)-----------------------------------
FORMULA 1 Round 4 Grand Prix of Bahrain
24th April Friday 10:00-11:30 Free Practice 1
14:00-15:30 Free Practice 2
25th April Saturday 11:00-12:00 Free Practice 3
14:00- Qualifying
26th April Sunday 15:00- Race
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 18:48
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Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:02 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Toyota Bahrain Grand Prix - Preview F1 2009
F1 Toyotas Chinese Grand Prix - Preview
Panasonic Toyota Racing continues the 2009 Formula 1 season with
another trip eastwards, this time to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand
Prix, which comes much earlier in the season than its usual autumn
spot. Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli finished third and fourth
respectively in the Malaysian Grand Prix last time out, reversing
the result in Australia and taking the team's Formula 1 podium tally
to 10. After the race the team briefly returned home to its
technical centre in Cologne, Germany before making the trip to China,
although the cars and equipment went directly from Sepang to
Shanghai. Last year Timo Glock finished seventh in China to score
more points in his debut season while Jarno Trulli was eliminated in
an early accident. Toyota has finished on the podium before in China,
in 2005 with Ralf Schumacher, and that will be the target again this
weekend.
Drivers Championship
1 Jenson Button Brawn GP Formula One Team 15
2 Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team 10
3 Jarno Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing 8.5
4 Timo Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing 8
5 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team 4
6 Fernando Alonso ING Renault F1 Team 4
7 Nico Rosberg AT&T Williams 3.5
8 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 2
9 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1.5
10 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1
11 Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1
12 Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 0
13 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 0
14 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India F1 Team 0
15 Kazuki Nakajima AT&T Williams 0
16 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 0
17 Nelsinho Piquet ING Renault F1 Team 0
18 Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 0
19 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team 0
20 Heikki Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 0
Constructors Championship
1 Brawn GP Formula One Team 25
2 Panasonic Toyota Racing 16.5
3 BMW Sauber F1 Team 4
4 ING Renault F1 Team 4
5 AT&T Williams 3.5
6 Scuderia Toro Rosso 3
7 Red Bull Racing 1.5
8 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1
9 Force India F1 Team 0
10 Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 0
---- Race Schedule (All Local Time)-----------------------------------
FORMULA 1 Round 3 Grand Prix of China
17th April Friday 10:00-11:30 Practice Session 1
14:00-15:30 Practice Session 2
18th April Saturday 11:00-12:00 Practice Session 3
14:00- Qualifying
19th April Sunday 15:00- Race
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:01 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: F1 Toyotas Chinese Grand Prix - Preview
Toyota 'had doubts' about its F1 future
Toyota team principal Tadashi Yamashina has revealed that he had to battle to keep the company in Formula 1 this season.
The Japanese car giant posted its first ever operating loss in December last year, just weeks after arch-rival Honda announced its departure from grand prix racing.
Toyota rapidly quelled consequent speculation about its F1 future by affirming its commitment to the sport. But Yamashina has now admitted that a pull-out had been seriously considered.
"I stressed again and again in the company's executive board meetings there was no way we should pull out, although we have to drastically cut our costs," he told Japanese newspaper the Daily Yomiuri.
"Obviously our negative business reports did cause some doubt."
He said major sponsor Panasonic's continued commitment had been crucial to keeping Toyota in F1.
"So I was extremely happy that Panasonic decided to renew its contract with us even though they also had some financial trouble," said Yamashina. "Their understanding of what we are doing allowed us to keep racing."
He also remains convinced that F1 provides good value for Toyota.
"We have competed in the F1 circuit over the past seven years, which I believe has helped to invigorate our company and contributed to the sales of our products," said Yamashina.
The team boss is confident that Toyota is set for a major step forward this season, its car having impressed so far in winter testing.
"We must win," Yamashina said. "I'm sure of our team's potential to win a GP title after watching the final test on Thursday. Our team is definitely better than that of last year."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 12:58 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: f1 team toyota
Toyota welcomes stewards' decision
Toyota has welcomed the FIA stewards' decision to clear the design of its diffuser following a protest lodged by rival teams.
The team had defended its design was legal, but Ferrari, BMW, Renault and Red Bull Racing today lodged a protest against the Japanese squad as well as against Williams and Brawn GP.
All cars were cleared on Thursday night, however, and they will be able to race on Sunday.
"We are pleased with the decision of the race stewards but we prefer not to comment further on the situation," said Toyota Motorsport Chairman Tadashi Yamashina.
"This weekend promises to be a tremendously exciting Australian Grand Prix so we are now looking forward to starting the competition on track with the first practice sessions on Friday."
Toyota said in a statement that it had "studied the wording of the new 2009 regulations in precise detail to ensure that we have interpreted them correctly."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 12:58 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Toyota f1 diffuser
Toyotas thrown out of qualifying
The two Toyotas have been disqualified from the Melbourne qualifying results due to technical infringements.
The race stewards declared that the wings on Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli's cars had flexed excessively.
Wings have to be kept at a certain level of rigidity because a car's downforce at different parts of the circuit can be increased if they flex.
"The Stewards have received a report from the Technical Delegate that the upper rear wing elements of cars No. 9 and 10 are showing extreme flexibility in contravention of Article 3.15 of the 2009 Formula One Technical Regulations," said a stewards' statement.
"The Stewards have heard the explanation from a representative of Panasonic Toyota Racing and have examined the cars in question.
"The Stewards concur with the opinion of the Technical Delegate and find the cars contravene the requirements of Article 3.15 of the 2009 Formula One Technical Regulations.
"It is the Stewards decision that cars number 9 and 10 be excluded from the Qualifying Session Official Classification."
The decision means that Glock and Trulli fall from sixth and eighth places to the rear of the grid.
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 12:56 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Toyotas qualifying mistake australia
Toyota f1 australian result
Panasonic Toyota Racing started the 2009 Formula 1 season with a trip to the podium and a double points finish in an exciting Australian Grand Prix. Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock started from the pit lane but battling opening laps saw both fight their way up the order. Jarno started on the super soft Bridgestone Potenza tyres and made an early pit stop for mediums while Timo was initially on the mediums, preferring a longer first stint. With plenty of incident elsewhere on the track, the two Toyotas made their way into the top 10, passing several cars on the way before a breath-taking final few laps. Jarno's long final stint saw him move into the points when other cars made their final pit stops and he showed great pace to come within sight of the podium, which became a reality after a late accident for two rivals lifted him to third. Timo chose to finish the race on the super soft tyres and passed several cars in a short final stint to take fifth as the race finished behind the safety car. Race stewards subsequently handed Jarno a 25s penalty for overtaking under safety car conditions, but the team has filed an appeal within the proscribed time period.
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 12:53 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Toyota f1 australian result
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Blog Archive
▼ 2009 (30)
▼ October (2)
Toyota has 'probably lost' Kubica
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blo...
► September (6)
Japanese Grand Prix - Preview
Singapore Grand Prix - Race Round-Up
Singapore Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blo...
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blo...
Belgian Grand Prix - Arai Report for Toyota
► August (22)
Trulli vows to push for Toyota's first win
Belgian Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blo...
Toyota blames qualifying for struggles
Belgian Grand Prix Technical Preview
European Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
Trulli shocked by Q1 exit
European Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
European Grand Prix - Toyota Preview
Toyota moves to deny quit rumours
Q and A with Timo Glock
Fuji withdraws from F1 schedule
German Grand Prix - Preview
McLaren expect improvements at Monaco
Toyota F1 Spanish Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up...
F1 Toyota's Howett wary of McLaren, Ferrari
Toyota Bahrain Grand Prix - Preview F1 2009
F1 Toyotas Chinese Grand Prix - Preview
Toyota 'had doubts' about its F1 future
Toyota welcomes stewards' decision
Toyotas thrown out of qualifying
Toyota f1 australian result
Toyota has 'probably lost' Kubica
Toyota has probably failed in its bid to sign Robert Kubica for next season, according to team president John Howett.
Kubica is now expected to join Renault despite the Japanese manufacturer's last ditch attempt to secure his services, leaving Toyota to re-evaluate its options for next year.
Both Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli are out of contract, but despite the Italian finishing second in Japan, Howett suggests that he is still not top of the list.
"It looks like we have probably lost Robert, so we need to look next week and really see what we finally do," Howett told the BBC.
"[Regarding Trulli] we will have to wait and see. He did a great job, but we have to look at the total season and really reconsider. It is probably less likely, but I don't think we can exclude anything.
"It really depends which way the market moves in the next couple of weeks and if somebody else arrives and we consider them a better option, we have to take them.
"Jarno did a great job here today, but we still need a little bit more for the number one."
The team, who has long been a Kimi Raikkonen admirer and has made several attempts to sign him, is believed to be interesting in hiring the Finn.
Trulli insists that his strong form in Japan was not motivated by a desire to secure a new contract with Toyota, and he remains committed to continuing in F1 for a 14th season in 2010.
"To be honest I am not looking to keep my position at Toyota," said Toyota. "I am racing for Toyota and I am racing for myself."
Glock, who sat out the Japanese Grand Prix after an accident in qualifying, is in a stronger position to remain with the team, and Howett is certain that the German will be fit to race at Interlagos in two weeks.
"Glock will be fine for Brazil," said Howett, whose team is still in contention for third in the Constructors' Championship with two races to go.
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 09:33 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Toyota has 'probably lost' Kubica
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blog: Trulli thrilled with hard-fought second
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blog: Trulli thrilled with hard-fought second
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 09:27 0 comments Links to this post
28 September 2009
Japanese Grand Prix - Preview
28.09.2009
Panasonic Toyota Racing makes the 5,000km trip from Singapore to Suzuka for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix. Following its return to the podium with Timo Glock’s second place in Singapore at the weekend, the team has the chance to continue that strong form on Formula 1’s return to Suzuka. With almost no time between the two races, Jarno Trulli and Timo will use the same specification cars that performed so well in Singapore, although there is a change of tyre compound with the soft and hard specification Bridgestone Potenza tyres in use this weekend. As its home race, the Japanese Grand Prix is of particular significance for the team, not least as the location for its first-ever pole position, in 2005. Jarno holds the record for Toyota’s best result at Suzuka, with sixth in 2006, although he went one place better than that last year at Fuji Speedway to take the team’s highest finish in Japan. With thousands of loyal Toyota fans expected to lend their support at Suzuka, the team is highly motivated to fight for the podium.
Jarno Trulli - Car 9
"I am excited to be returning to Suzuka because it is a very technical and challenging circuit which I like very much. There are a lot of high-speed corners and quick changes of direction so it is a bit like Spa in that sense and it is one of my favourite circuits. I am particularly looking forward to seeing what changes have been made to the facilities; although I am pleased the lay-out is the same with just resurfacing. Japan is the home Grand Prix for the team so I will give my all to get the best result for Toyota and our Japanese supporters. I have a special relationship with the Japanese fans so I really enjoy visiting the country; they are always so supportive and enthusiastic. It is a special atmosphere. I had a disappointing weekend in Singapore but Suzuka is a totally different track and we should be competitive there; we hope to be very strong so I hope to race well and get a result to match."
Timo Glock - Car 10
"Suzuka is a really special circuit. It is very fast and the first sector is just unbelievable in a Formula 1 car; a really enjoyable experience. It is five years since I drove a Formula 1 car at Suzuka but the lay-out hasn’t changed and I’m sure the fans will still make it a pleasure to race there. It’s a really good fun circuit to race at because not only is the lay-out so fantastic, the fans make it feel special too, especially when you are a Toyota driver. It’s not an easy track to drive and you really have to be completely concentrated to get the best lap time but this makes it so much fun. It was fantastic to finish on the podium in Singapore. I would love to be challenging for the podium again in Toyota’s home race to give something back to our team’s; that would be a great result. Standing on the podium for Toyota in Japan would be perfect."
Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal
"We are very much looking forward to our home Grand Prix. After two great years at Fuji Speedway the race returns to Suzuka this season but despite the change of venue we are equally determined to achieve a positive result. We will have a lot of encouragement from our fans, our partners and Toyota employees at this race which is very motivating for the whole team. This creates some positive pressure because we know our supporters are hoping for a strong result and we are determined to meet their expectations. Everyone back in Cologne has worked extremely hard to develop the new package we saw in Singapore and will use again in Japan. This shows we are fighting for every 10th of a second right to the end of the season."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 12:00 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Japanese Grand Prix - Preview
27 September 2009
Singapore Grand Prix - Race Round-Up
27.09.2009
Panasonic Toyota Racing returned to the podium in a dramatic Singapore Grand Prix as Timo Glock equalled his and the team's best Formula 1 result with second place. Timo took his third career podium, his second of the season, thanks to a brilliant drive from sixth on the grid under lights at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. His charge to the front started on the opening lap when, on soft compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres, he fought his way up to fifth place. Jarno, also on the soft tyres, started with a heavy fuel load and finished the first lap in 17th. Timo made his first pit stop, for more soft tyres, on lap 19 and had already moved into the podium places but a safety car two laps later interrupted the race. Jarno pitted for more soft tyres behind the safety car, resuming in 14th. After four laps of safety car the race restarted and Timo battled hard to defend his fourth position. Soon after that became third and he made his final pit stop from second place, switching to the super soft options. He continued to push hard and closed in on the race lead, while Jarno had fought his way into the top 10 before a late stop for super soft tyres. An exceptionally long race in tough conditions saw Timo take the chequered flag in a fine second place, Panasonic Toyota Racing's fourth runners-up spot and 12th podium.
Timo Glock - Car 10, Chassis TF109-05
Grid: 6th
Race Classification: 2nd (+9.634s)
Pit Stop Laps: 19, 45
"We have had a really good weekend and this is a great reward for the team. After a solid qualifying the pace was good in the race so I am really happy for the team and myself. It was important to get in front of Fernando (Alonso) on the first lap and I was disappointed I didn't do it at the start. I saw he was fighting with Mark (Webber) and I just dived in and made the pass. It paid off because after that our strategy worked well; it was the key point in my race. I was just concentrating the whole race on my speed and we didn't make any mistakes. This is a brilliant result for Toyota before the Japanese Grand Prix. It's important for everyone in the team; the mechanics and engineers as well as the people back home in Cologne and in Japan. The car worked well today with the new package and I hope we can be competitive again in Suzuka."
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
Grid: 14th
Race Classification: 12th (+1m 13.009s)
Pit Stop Laps: 21, 51
"It was a really tough race and not much went right for me. As soon as I got out of the traffic the safety car came at the wrong moment for me; right when I was passing through the pits for my first stop. I wasn't particularly competitive all weekend and I was struggling with traction so we have to take a look at that. But on the positive side Timo's second place is a great result for the team, who really deserve it. Timo drove a great race and I am happy for his podium; it is also good news for us in the Constructors' Championship."
Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal
"I am extremely happy to be back on the podium and fighting at the front again. Timo did a fantastic job this weekend, as did the entire team. Everything went perfectly with Timo today; his pit stops were very good and he drove very well. Jarno did his best but unfortunately it was always going to be difficult after qualifying. To be on the podium again is a particularly satisfying result coming just a few days before our home Grand Prix in Japan. Suzuka should be more suited to our car than Singapore so we can expect to be very competitive there as well. I would like to thank the team for their hard work in getting such a great result and I am looking forward to another strong performance next weekend."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 20:52 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Singapore Grand Prix - Race Round-Up
Singapore Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
Panasonic Toyota Racing had a mixed night in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix on the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Starting at 10pm local time and in 31°C heat, Formula 1's only night-time qualifying session saw Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock take their updated TF109s to the Singapore streets. Both drivers started first qualifying on the soft compound Bridgestone Potenza tyre before switching to the super soft option for a final flying lap in the closing seconds. Jarno, who lost some time in morning practice due to an exhaust problem, set the fastest third sector of the session to progress while Timo was close behind and also reached second qualifying. Again using the super soft tyre, Jarno struggled for grip and missed out while Timo went from strength to strength to reach the top 10. In third qualifying Timo, again on the super soft tyres, was fighting towards the front when a late red flag prematurely ended his final flying lap and left him seventh in the standings, although a penalty for Rubens Barrichello means he will start sixth.
Timo Glock - Car 10, Chassis TF109-05
3rd Practice: 8th, 1m 48.673s (+1.041s), 17 laps
1st Qualifying: 15th, 1m 47.770s (+0.793s), 7 laps
2nd Qualifying: 5th, 1m 46.707s (+0.510s), 6 laps
3rd Qualifying: 7th*, 1m 49.180s (+1.289), 5 laps
*6th on provisional grid
"I am happy to be back in the top 10 again. I like this track and I feel confident in the car set-up here. The sessions went well generally; particularly in second qualifying when I was straightaway a second faster than I had been in the first session. The car felt really good and it was nice to get through to third qualifying. My lap was okay in that session but I was on used options and they were a bit worn out. I was really looking forward to my last run on new options but the red flag destroyed it. I know I could have improved my lap time and who knows where that would have put me. But in the end I start from sixth so it looks pretty good. I hope we can have a clean first lap then try to finish in the top six. I will be fighting for as many points as possible."
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
3rd Practice: 10th, 1m 48.757s (+1.125s), 12 laps
1st Qualifying: 13th, 1m 47.690s (+0.713s), 7 laps
2nd Qualifying: 15th, 1m 47.413s (+1.216s), 6 laps
"The main problem for me was a lack of grip. The track conditions seem like they have improved but we couldn't improve our lap times enough from yesterday. I am not sure why because Timo looked strong but I just had no grip at all. The car didn't feel particularly good so we didn't quite get it right today unfortunately. Anything can happen in the race tomorrow and I will fight as hard as I can but it will be difficult to score points from 15th."
Pascal Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis
"As expected we are stronger here in Singapore than we were at the last race so it is disappointing not to get both cars into the top 10. Timo did a good job to get through first and second qualifying. In the end we are a bit frustrated that the final session ended early due to the red flag because he didn't have the chance to use his final set of new options so there was an opportunity to qualify even higher. The target for Timo is clearly a strong points finish but the race will be harder for Jarno. We need to analyse the grip problems he had and we will see what we can do with our strategy to recover some positions."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 11:29 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Singapore Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
14 September 2009
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blog: Italian Grand Prix - Toyota Race Round-Up
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blog: Italian Grand Prix - Toyota Race Round-Up
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 11:05 0 comments Links to this post
07 September 2009
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blog: Italian Grand Prix - Toyota Preview
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blog: Italian Grand Prix - Toyota Preview
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 19:05 0 comments Links to this post
01 September 2009
Belgian Grand Prix - Arai Report for Toyota
Thank you for your support over the weekend. After a four-week vacation, the F1 World Championship was back with two races in as many weeks. On the heels of last week’s European Grand Prix in Valencia, this weekend we were at Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian GP. Spa-Francorchamps is actually quite close to Cologne, home of the TMG factory. As with the German GP, we are always a little more on edge at a race so close to our second home. So, without further ado, here is my report from the Belgian GP.
The TF109 aero profile is quite compatible with Spa; even higher expectations for a strong result
Spa is a unique circuit among those on the schedule this year, featuring the famous “Eau Rouge” corner where lateral G forces are combined with vertical G forces. The TF109, however, has been made from the start to race at circuits like Spa without any special considerations. The team brought a low-downforce specification to the Belgian Grand Prix.
The European GP was very disappointing, particularly because we weren’t able to show how strong we truly are as a team. Looking at the lap times during the actual race, we knew our car had every bit as much pace as the others. The issue was not being able to maximize the potential of the car during qualifying.
Spa-Francorchamps was the stage for the Belgian GP. With several mid- to high-speed corners distributed throughout, Spa is considered to be a technically challenging circuit. To run fast here, a team must come to the race with a highly refined aero setup. We struggled with lack of grip at the Valencia street circuit, but Spa-Francorchamps is a circuit particularly compatible with the aerodynamic advantages inherent in the TF109. We came to Belgium expecting to be able to turn in a very strong performance.
Racing for the second consecutive weekend, we didn’t make any significant changes to the car, but we did bring a new rear wing developed specifically for Spa. The front wing had also been designed specifically for this circuit, but we actually produced and used it earlier than planned in the prior week’s European GP. This race was the second using this particular front wing design.
Braving the “Spa Weather,” we take the top two times on Day One
Taking the lessons learned in Valencia, the team changed its approach to free practice, collecting much more data. Both cars were able to record top times, making for a solid first day of practice. Even so, there were still areas to improve on Jarno and Timo’s cars, and the team was braced for more work prior to qualifying.
As forecast, the rains fell on Spa-Francorchamps Friday morning. Jarno (Trulli) recorded the top time during the first practice session in the 30-minute window prior to the rain, but we weren’t sure of the true value of that time. But considering that Jarno’s lap time of 1:49.675 out of the gate Friday morning was almost identical to his best time during the first practice session last year, we went into Friday afternoon practice feeling somewhat reassured about the condition of the car.
Out of the 90 minutes of the morning session on Friday, 60 minutes were conducted under wet conditions. We changed our program accordingly as a dry track greeted us for the afternoon practice session. Even so, we were able to get through almost all of the program steps we had planned for the first day of the weekend. Somewhere during the process of collecting data, Timo (Glock) and Jarno were able to score P2 and P7 on the time charts, respectively, giving us solid momentum going into Saturday and Sunday. Our car was quick in Valencia, too, but we were well aware of the fact that we weren’t able to fully demonstrate our true speed in qualifying at the European GP. While Timo’s Session 2 time was ultimately bested, we felt that being within .01 seconds of the fastest time was a good showing, especially considering the track conditions under which Timo recorded his time.
Our setup was still incomplete at that point, leaving many areas to improve. Specifically, we were fast through Sector 2, but we were losing time in Turn 1 and at the exit of the chicane. We continued to coordinate with the TMG factory throughout Friday, determined to take measures that would put both of our cars in the top 10 on the grid come Sunday afternoon.
Both cars advance to Q3 for the first time in four races; Jarno secures P2, just 0.087 seconds off pole
The team reduced downforce slightly for qualifying, and Jarno finished Q1, Q2 and Q3 in P2, P1 and P2, respectively. Throughout the weekend, the team took a good number of laps using a race fuel load. The car demonstrated solid performance, and expectations were high for a good result in the race.
With the car settled to a certain degree on Friday, we went into Saturday without making any changes to our aerodynamic settings. The decision appeared to be the correct one, and we were able to turn in steadily improving lap times Saturday morning. We did, however, make some late mechanical adjustments to improve stability under braking.
The other difficult choice going in to qualifying was which tire compound to use—the medium-hard or the soft. Normally, the softer of the two compounds provides better grip, and is the best choice for hot laps in qualifying; however, this weekend the softer of the two compounds produced a sensation of failing grip in the rear of the car. This unusual symptom meant that we couldn’t simply go with the softer tire as usual. Consequently, we decided to do hot laps on both the medium and soft tires during Q1 (first session of knock-out qualifying). Ultimately, the soft tires performed without any problems. With Q2 being five minutes shorter than Q1, and considering the extra time it would take to do two out laps during the session (the medium tire was likely to produce its best time in the third lap around the circuit), we chose to run both Q2 hot laps on the soft tires. Our decision worked out for the best, putting both cars into Q3 for the first time since the British GP.
Looking at the Q2 results, we decided to use the soft tires for Q3 as well. To confirm the performance of the soft tires on the fuel load we would be using at the start of the race, we tested a used set of softs at the outset of Q3 prior to running a hot lap. The drivers reported back that the soft compound performed well, so we put both cars on a fresh set of soft tires and sent them back onto the circuit.
Jarno missed pole position by the slimmest of margins, but turned in a strong attack lap according to plan. Timo would be the first to say that he wasn’t completely happy with his lap, but he still qualified P7. Having secured solid positions on the starting grid, it was the first time in quite a while that we were able to look forward to a strong race with confidence.
The Turn 1 melee and an accident in the pits combine to let a prime chance escape our grasp
Unavoidably caught up in the Turn 1 confusion, the first corner turned out to be the end of Jarno’s race. The team’s string of bad luck continued when Timo, who had successfully moved up in position, was held up in the pits due to fuel rig trouble. The disappointing weekend resulted in no championship points for the team.
With such a good starting position, the race result was all the more disappointing. By no means was Jarno’s start off the grid poor, but the fight for position in Turn 1 forced Jarno to slow. The car in front pulled up short, closing the door on Jarno and resulting in a collision. The damage to Jarno’s front wing was enough to require him to come into the pits on lap one of the race. We changed Jarno’s front wing, and loaded enough fuel to allow him to finish the race on one pit stop. Unfortunately—perhaps in connection with the front wing damage—Jarno began experiencing problems with his brakes. Taking the safer option, we brought Jarno back in to the pits, and retired the car from the race.
Meanwhile, Timo got off to a good start, weaving through the trouble in Turn 1, and pulling up to P5 right behind Jarno on the first lap. In the opening minute of the race, Timo was in a position to move up even further. As luck would have it, we had trouble with the fuel rig during Timo’s first pit stop. We had to switch over to the backup rig, losing about seven seconds in the process. By the time Timo was back out on the circuit, he had fallen to P13 and out of any chance to score championship points.
This year’s Belgian Grand Prix ended in disappointment for us, although we were able to meet our objectives in qualifying, which had been an issue for the past few races. Now, we have to put together a solid qualifying and a strong race result. The Italian Grand Prix will take place in two weeks, and Panasonic Toyota Racing will be ready to fight for a top position. Thank you for your continued support.
Noritoshi Arai at Spa-Francorchamps. The team turned in an improved qualifying performance at the Belgian Grand Prix, with both cars qualifying in the top 10. Jarno and Timo started from P2 and P7, respectively, but a string of bad luck kept the team from winning any championship points. The goal at Monza in two weeks is to link strong performances in both qualifying and race
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 11:10 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Belgian Grand Prix - Arai Report for Toyota
30 August 2009
Trulli vows to push for Toyota's first win
Jarno Trulli says he will go all out to score Toyota’s maiden Formula 1 victory after claiming a front-row starting berth for the Belgian Grand Prix, the Italian admitting the team "needs" to end its barren run.
Just a week after struggling on the streets of Valencia, Toyota had run towards the front on the higher-speed Spa circuit throughout practice before Trulli topped low-fuel Q2 before being pipped to pole by surprise fastest man Giancarlo Fisichella in the Force India.
With Toyota’s Formula 1 long-term future having again been at the centre of increased speculation over the past week, Trulli hinted that finally claiming the team’s first win in its eighth season was desperately needed.
Indeed he believes that the TF109 is strong enough to do just that on Sunday.
“I will just go out and do my best,” Trulli said.
“I know we can win the race and I will really be pushing really, really hard because the team needs this win.”
Trulli will start towards the head of an unusual-looking front of the grid, with Force India and BMW also having shown unexpectedly strong pace while the recent front-runners struggled.
But while he admits a podium finish may be enough for Fisichella and third-placed Nick Heidfeld, he admits Toyota’s Japanese board will be expecting no less than a win from second on the grid.
“A podium finish for all three [of us] would be a good position definitely,” he said.
“For me, I have another goal because a podium wont be enough, especially to make the Japanese happy – they want to win and I want to give them that win.
“That’s all I’m thinking about, so I will try really hard.”
After showing consistency strong speed in the opening four flyaway rounds of the campaign, Toyota has experienced wildly fluctuating fortunes in recent months with Trulli failing to get out of Q1 in Valencia just seven days ago.
However, he says the team has felt the TF109 was well-suited to the high-speed demands of Spa from first practice – adding that that the fact he has run with high levels of fuel for most of the weekend has left him optimistic for the race.
"We have always known that when things go right we have a very competitive car and all weekend we have looked extremely strong," Trulli added.
"In qualifying I was always in the top two, even though in first qualifying I took it a bit easy.
"We dropped the downforce a bit yesterday and spent most of the time balancing the car.
Then we made a small change to the set-up this morning so I had better handling and traction for qualifying and it worked well.
"Also, I spent most of the weekend driving on race fuel so I am very happy with how things have turned out and it is looking pretty good for tomorrow."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 11:09 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Trulli vows to push for Toyota's first win
28 August 2009
Belgian Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
Panasonic Toyota Racing was back on track again today just five days after the European Grand Prix, with the first practice sessions at Spa-Francorchamps. The classic track, venue for this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, is located just over an hour's drive from the team's technical centre in Cologne, Germany and the weekend started positively for the local team. Spa is famed for changeable weather and that reputation was enhanced in first practice when clouds gathered and rain fell a few minutes in. By that time Jarno Trulli had already set a flying lap, unlike team-mate Timo Glock. With no improvement in conditions, both drivers took to the track later in the session on wet Bridgestone Potenza tyres, gathering information about the TF109's handling in rain. By virtue of his early lap on a dry track, Jarno was fastest but Timo's only timed laps came in the wet, leaving him down the order. Afternoon sun dried the track for second practice, allowing both drivers to concentrate on evaluating the revised front and rear wings which the team is using at Spa as part of its low-downforce aerodynamic package. In addition, comparison runs between the medium and soft tyres were carried out with Timo ending the day an impressive second fastest and Jarno also in the top eight.
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
1st Practice: 1st, 1m 49.675s, 13 laps
2nd Practice: 7th, 1m 47.559s (+0.358s), 33 laps
"It was a good Friday for us. Obviously there is still work to do to get the most out of the car and I need to find a bit more grip at the rear end but all in all I am very happy with the results today. I have a good feeling from the car so I hope it will be a competitive weekend for us. The track was wet this morning which meant we couldn't do all of the tests we had planned but we did some laps to better understand the car in those conditions. In the afternoon, when it was dry, the track just got quicker and quicker. I was working mainly on race pace today, getting the car set-up in race trim so we have a good balance for Sunday, and it seems to be reacting well."
Timo Glock - Car 10, Chassis TF109-05
1st Practice: 18th, 2m 06.331s (+16.656s), 15 laps
2nd Practice: 2nd, 1m 47.217s (+0.016s), 29 laps
"Whenever you come back to Spa it is a nice experience to do your first laps of the weekend and that was the case again today. It's a great circuit and very satisfying for a driver, especially when you have a competitive car. It's hard to draw any conclusions from the wet session this morning but I am pleased to be second in the afternoon; that is very encouraging. The car felt pretty good and the lap times show that. Still, there are a couple of areas to improve so we will work on those before qualifying and try to find the perfect aerodynamic balance. I am happy with how things went today and I'm interested to see where we are tomorrow."
Dieter Gass - Chief Engineer Race and Test
"Overall it has been a positive day for us. It was a bit unfortunate that the first session was disrupted by wet conditions because dry weather is forecast for the rest of the weekend, so we lost some time to work on the car. In the afternoon we were mainly concentrating on assessing the revised aerodynamic package we have brought to this race. We also looked at the tyres and both specifications seem to be behaving okay. We anticipated some warm-up issues but that doesn't seem to be the case. In general we are quite happy with what we have seen so far so we are looking forward with optimism to the rest of the weekend."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 18:23 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Belgian Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blog: Toyota's Trulli sets pace in rain-hit practice
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blog: Toyota's Trulli sets pace in rain-hit practice
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 10:48 0 comments Links to this post
26 August 2009
Toyota blames qualifying for struggles
Toyota's technical chief Pascal Vasselon is convinced his team's recent struggles are only related to its problems in qualifying.
The Japanese squad started the season strongly and aiming to score its first Formula 1 victory, but has seen its hopes dashes after dropping down the order.
Toyota has scored just six points in the last four races and is now fifth in the standings.
Neither Jarno Trulli nor Timo Glock have qualified in the top ten in the last three events, although Glock set the fastest lap of the race in Valencia last Sunday.
Vasselon believes the team has no problems with its race pace, and that it's only qualifying that needs sorted.
"The primary reason is obviously the qualifying pace, because Timo set the fastest lap of the race," Vasselon said. "And it wasn't just one lap, all his lap times has been consistently extremely fast, so the problem is clearly the qualifying times.
"Only Hamilton was probably faster than Timo in the race. So it's difficult to understand exactly what is going on."
He added: "We are obviously in trouble, because as long as we don't qualify in the top ten it's going to be very difficult. I would say we are in trouble, we are not happy with the situation. We are basically questioning everything.
"The only light we see is the race pace, because we are not just decent, we are quick. In Budapest and here we are talking about being the second fastest car, with only Hamilton possibly better. That's what gives us a little bit of hope.
"We still have hope to find the problem, because we see we have potential."
The Frenchman conceded the results at fast tracks like Spa and Monza will only depend on its performance in qualifying, as he reckons Toyota's car can adapt to most circuits.
"Our performance will depend on our capacity to fix our qualifying problems. We have to fix the problem," he said.
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 12:06 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Toyota blames qualifying for struggles
Belgian Grand Prix Technical Preview
Technical Preview - Rd.12 Belgian Grand Prix
Q+A with Pascal Vasselon
Why is Spa so special?
For most of the drivers Spa is probably the best circuit in the world, with only Suzuka coming close. The reason for this is that Spa is one of the last natural circuits left in Formula 1, which means the lay-out is not artificial and it is dictated by the surroundings. Then you have the countryside around Spa, with the hills and forests which create a wonderful atmosphere. The other reason is that it is a fast circuit; drivers and spectators are fascinated by speed. Apart from Monaco, which is an exception to the rule, I have never heard a driver excited about a low-speed circuit. The combination of these factors makes it a really special circuit.
Is it still magical, even after the recent changes?
The Spa circuit has a long history and you could argue that it lost some of its magic with the big change in the late 1970s, when it went from being a very long circuit a little bit like the Nürburgring Nordschleife to the lay-out we know now. That first lay-out just seems crazy to us now because cars were going flat-out through villages and the safety standards were very far away from what we are used to today. At the time it was a magical place but it had to change. The current generation of Spa lay-out was adjusted recently but that did not really change the nature of the circuit and the attraction of the track has not been diluted at all.
What about Eau Rouge?
It is a fantastic corner because you have changes of curvature in all directions; you go left and right but also down and up at the same time. This combination makes it unique but I have to say it has lost a bit of its magic now that it is easily flat out. We expect it to remain flat out in the dry this season even considering the aerodynamic changes, largely because the slick tyres compensate for the loss of downforce with increased grip. But where Eau Rouge regains its magic is in the rain; to watch a Formula 1 car through there on a wet track is just unbelievable. It is especially impressive if you have watched other types of car go through the corner in similar conditions because the Formula 1 cars are massively faster.
How important is Eau Rouge to the whole lap? Is it important or just another corner?
It is no longer a place where you could win or lose a second a lap as could have been the case in the past before it was flat out. It is not a straight, obviously, but considering it is flat out you largely treat it as such. Still, you have to take this corner into account to some extent when you think about set-ups because you want to avoid bottoming, so it has some influence.
What forces does a car experience through Eau Rouge?
We design the car to resist the most extreme loading conditions and Eau Rouge is one of the factors we have to take into account because you combine very high vertical acceleration, because of the compression, with a very high lateral load. These factors are not surpassed anywhere else in the season so our cars, particularly the suspension, are designed to cope specifically with the forces generated through Eau Rouge.
How demanding is Spa on the engines?
It is simply the most important track of the year for engines, even more so than Monza. That is because at Spa you have high-speed engine limited corners as well as long straights, whereas at Monza you only have long straights and slow chicanes. As a result we are planning to use a new engine in both cars for this race.
Is there any part of the car which isn’t under severe stress at Spa?
The braking severity is below average and this is really the only system that is not stretched too much.
How much of a factor is the potential for bad weather?
At Spa it is possible to be in a situation where you develop a wet set-up and we did this in 2005 when rain on Sunday was an absolute certainty. Even when the weather seems reasonable at Spa you have to be prepared for anything. But don’t think that Spa cannot offer very good weather. I live close to there and the number of nice sunny days is actually very high; its reputation is exaggerated!
Will the team have any upgrades for the Belgian Grand Prix?
This season Spa and Monza are the two circuits which stand out as requiring a lower downforce package so we have taken that into account. As a result we have a special package for these two races, meaning revised front and rear wings as well as other aerodynamic changes.
What is the team doing to address the recent difference between qualifying and race pace?
Timo set the fastest race lap in Valencia and that was not a one-off; if you go through all the lap times he was consistently fast but we clearly have an issue with qualifying pace. We are not happy with this situation and we are looking into every area – tyre handling, set-up, how we prepare for qualifying - to get more from the car over one lap. We are studying every factor which could explain why we have more relative pace in the race compared to qualifying and we will take whatever action is necessary.
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 09:20 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Belgian Grand Prix Technical Preview
23 August 2009
European Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
Panasonic Toyota Racing endured an afternoon of frustration in qualifying for the European Grand Prix on the streets of Valencia, Spain today. After a disrupted morning practice, in which around 28 minutes were lost due to a red flag for oil on the track, qualifying began under blue skies with air temperatures of 31°C and track temperatures hitting 47°C. In common with recent qualifying sessions, a close fight was expected and the competition was as hot as the conditions on the 5.419km street track around Valencia's America's Cup harbour. Both Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock started first qualifying using the soft compound Bridgestone Potenza tyre but switched to the super soft option for a final stint on low fuel. Timo saved his best for last and progressed thanks to a battling final flying lap but Jarno, who crossed the line just in front of his team-mate, missed out. Timo again used the super soft tyres for his fastest flying laps in second qualifying and ended the session 13th, just 0.209secs outside of the top 10.
Timo Glock - Car 10, Chassis TF109-05
3rd Practice: 16th, 1m 40.443s (+1.300s), 10 laps
1st Qualifying: 15th, 1m 39.459s (+0.928s), 9 laps
2nd Qualifying: 13th, 1m 38.991s (+0.915s), 6 laps
"That wasn't a good result. We struggled a bit for pace this morning in the short third practice and in the end we were just a couple of tenths away from being in the top 10, which is a pity. I was having trouble in first qualifying but in the second session the car wasn't too bad until the final corners when the rear tyres dropped off quite a lot. I was pushing to the maximum but the tyres didn't really survive. So we have to start again from 13th as we did in Hungary and try to repeat what we did there by finding a way to get into the points. It will be a difficult task but I will do everything I can."
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
3rd Practice: 9th, 1m 40.017s (+0.874s), 11 laps
1st Qualifying: 18th, 1m 39.807s (+1.276s), 10 laps
"I was expecting qualifying to be a bit difficult but not as bad as that. This morning the car felt reasonable even if we were a little short of grip. But it was much worse in qualifying; I really had no grip and there was nothing I could do. I just kept pushing and took a few more risks than normal but it didn't work out. I don't know why we struggled so much; it is a mystery to me. For the race tomorrow I can just do my best and see what happens."
Pascal Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis
"We can only be unhappy about that result as it is another extremely disappointing qualifying for us. In the last races we have shown that our race pace is better and gives us a chance to move up the field, although obviously that will be tough. Now we have to take a close look at all our options to see how we can fight back as we did in Hungary. Track conditions are changing continuously so we will look at the effect of that on the tyres for the race and try to make the best of it."
Free Practice 1 Free Practice 2 Free Practice 3 Qualify Race Pos. No. Driver Team
Time Laps
1 23 R. Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team 1:42.460 19
2 2 H. Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:42.636 16
3 1 L. Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:42.654 18
4 22 J. Button Brawn GP Formula One Team 1:43.074 19
5 15 S. Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:43.088 17
6 20 A. Sutil Force India F1 Team 1:43.209 13
7 17 K. Nakajima AT&T Williams 1:43.225 25
8 14 M. Webber Red Bull Racing 1:43.243 19
9 7 F. Alonso ING Renault F1 Team 1:43.345 18
10 4 K. Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:43.384 23
11 12 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:43.389 30
12 5 R. Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team 1:43.419 20
13 11 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:43.637 30
14 16 N. Rosberg AT&T Williams 1:43.746 22
15 6 N. Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team 1:44.040 23
16 21 G. Fisichella Force India F1 Team 1:44.126 17
17 8 R. Grosjean ING Renault F1 Team 1:44.356 23
18 9 J. Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:44.638 26
19 10 T. Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:44.732 28
20 3 L. Badoer Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:45.840 25
Pos. No. Driver Team Time Laps
1 7 F. Alonso ING Renault F1 Team 1:39.404 33
2 22 J. Button Brawn GP Formula One Team 1:40.178 33
3 23 R. Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team 1:40.209 34
4 16 N. Rosberg AT&T Williams 1:40.385 39
5 17 K. Nakajima AT&T Williams 1:40.503 35
6 20 A. Sutil Force India F1 Team 1:40.596 23
7 5 R. Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team 1:40.643 34
8 21 G. Fisichella Force India F1 Team 1:40.681 31
9 15 S. Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:40.723 33
10 2 H. Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:40.738 31
11 4 K. Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:40.739 39
12 9 J. Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:40.770 32
13 8 R. Grosjean ING Renault F1 Team 1:40.787 35
14 14 M. Webber Red Bull Racing 1:40.956 37
15 10 T. Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:40.985 30
16 12 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:41.156 34
17 6 N. Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team 1:41.350 29
18 3 L. Badoer Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:42.017 37
19 11 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:42.089 34
20 1 L. Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:43.214 3
Pos. No. Driver Team Time Laps
1 20 A. Sutil Force India F1 Team 1:39.143 12
2 17 K. Nakajima AT&T Williams 1:39.247 12
3 5 R. Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team 1:39.513 12
4 2 H. Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:39.553 8
5 16 N. Rosberg AT&T Williams 1:39.732 11
6 21 G. Fisichella Force India F1 Team 1:39.764 12
7 22 J. Button Brawn GP Formula One Team 1:39.883 10
8 1 L. Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:39.950 12
9 9 J. Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:40.017 11
10 8 R. Grosjean ING Renault F1 Team 1:40.088 11
11 12 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:40.118 12
12 23 R. Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team 1:40.192 10
13 6 N. Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team 1:40.230 12
14 4 K. Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:40.260 12
15 7 F. Alonso ING Renault F1 Team 1:40.402 9
16 10 T. Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:40.443 10
17 14 M. Webber Red Bull Racing 1:40.879 10
18 15 S. Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:40.916 6
19 11 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:41.125 12
20 3 L. Badoer Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:42.198 14
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 09:24 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: European Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
22 August 2009
Trulli shocked by Q1 exit
Jarno Trulli admitted he was taken aback by his Toyota’s poor performance in Valencia qualifying after being eliminated at the first knockout stage.
The Italian veteran, renowned as a qualifying specialist, wound up 18th on the grid and was baffled by the TF109’s chronic lack of grip.
“I was expecting qualifying to be a bit difficult but not as bad as that,” he said.
“This morning the car felt reasonable even if we were a little short of grip.
“But it was much worse in qualifying; I really had no grip and there was nothing I could do.
“I just kept pushing and took a few more risks than normal but it didn't work out.
“I don't know why we struggled so much; it is a mystery to me.
"For the race tomorrow I can just do my best and see what happens.”
Team-mate Timo Glock fared somewhat better, qualifying 13th after struggling with rear tyre degradation towards the end of his flying lap.
“That wasn't a good result,” summarised the German.
“We struggled a bit for pace this morning in the short third practice and in the end we were just a couple of tenths away from being in the top 10, which is a pity.
“I was having trouble in first qualifying but in the second session the car wasn't too bad until the final corners when the rear tyres dropped off quite a lot.
“I was pushing to the maximum but the tyres didn't really survive.”
Having made several impressive charges on heavy fuel loads so far this season, Glock has not given up hope of scoring points in Sunday’s race.
“We have to start again from 13th as we did in Hungary and try to repeat what we did there by finding a way to get into the points,” he said.
“It will be a difficult task but I will do everything I can.”
Chassis chief Pascal Vasselon made no attempt to sugar-coat the team’s poor showing, but noted that its race pace has been solid in recent events.
“We can only be unhappy about that result as it is another extremely disappointing qualifying for us,” said the Frenchman.
“In the last races we have shown that our race pace is better and gives us a chance to move up the field, although obviously that will be tough.
“Now we have to take a close look at all our options to see how we can fight back as we did in Hungary.
“Track conditions are changing continuously so we will look at the effect of that on the tyres for the race and try to make the best of it.”
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 16:25 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Trulli shocked by Q1 exit
21 August 2009
European Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
Panasonic Toyota Racing was back in action today after the four-week summer break with the first practice sessions for the European Grand Prix on the streets of Valencia in Spain. Under clear blue skies and a hot summer sun temperatures soared, reaching 30°C and creating track temperatures of 50°C. But both Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock had worked out during the break, as well as relaxing among family and friends, so they were prepared for the challenge. A trouble-free morning session saw both drivers evaluate front wing options while gather information on the soft compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres, with the track surface still relatively dusty. Further set-up evaluations took place in the afternoon as the track conditions improved, along with comparison runs to fully understand both the soft and super soft tyres available this weekend. That also ended without incident and the team has plenty of information to work with to maximise the potential of the TF109 in qualifying tomorrow.
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
1st Practice: 18th, 1m 44.638s (+2.178s), 26 laps
2nd Practice: 12th, 1m 40.770s (+1.366s), 32 laps
"First of all it is very nice to be back in the car after a long summer break. I am also pleased to be here in the good weather and at a nice track. Basically today was a normal Friday for us without any exceptional situations. Everything went smoothly and we had no troubles so we were able to evaluate the tyres and the set-ups to make sure we are prepared for the rest of the weekend. We still have some work to do to make the most of our car but it is difficult to see a true picture of where stand after practice as you never know exactly what programmes other teams are working on. The car feels okay but we will work to get more performance from it."
Timo Glock - Car 10, Chassis TF109-05
1st Practice: 19th, 1m 44.732s (+2.272s), 28 laps
2nd Practice: 15th, 1m 40.985s (+1.581s), 30 laps
"That was a pretty good day for me overall. The car feels quite positive and balanced which is a promising start to the weekend and we successfully ran through our whole programme. We planned a lot of work today but there were no technical issues and the guys all did a good job so now we have a lot of data to look at overnight. The task now is to fine-tune the car for tomorrow and the race; hopefully we can be strong. It's hard to predict what the order is at the moment because the lap times are close but we will do our best."
Dieter Gass - Chief Engineer Race and Test
"We had some new parts to test throughout the day and we collected plenty of data so we are in a position to make the right choice for tomorrow. This track is not used regularly and as a result we saw a really big circuit evolution, especially in the morning session. Due to our busy programme we had to go out early in that session to complete all our work and on the green track we damaged our tyres. That made first practice a little harder than expected but everything came back to normal in the afternoon. Even though the circuit continued to evolve, the tyres behaved a lot better than in first practice because there was more rubber on the track. We seem to be in a situation where both compounds will be workable for the race without major problems."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 19:04 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: European Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
18 August 2009
European Grand Prix - Toyota Preview
Panasonic Toyota Racing hits the Spanish streets this weekend for the European Grand Prix in Valencia after a four-week summer break. This year marks the second running of the race around Valencia's Americas Cup port, on a circuit which includes a bridge across the harbour and a super-fast second sector where cars hit over 315km/h. The team has happy memories of Valencia, having excelled there last year when Jarno Trulli finished fifth and Timo Glock, despite a heavy cold, took seventh. With the TF109 showing itself to be a step forward on the TF108, hopes are high for a similarly strong performance this weekend. As with the Hungarian Grand Prix three weeks ago, the team again uses the super soft and soft Bridgestone Potenza tyres, making it three consecutive races where the softest compound in the range has been utilised. Having achieved a double points finish thanks to its strong race performance in Hungary on these tyres, the team is confident of another extremely competitive weekend.
Jarno Trulli - Car 9
"I am really glad to be racing again; it's great to have some time off to relax with my family but my passion is racing so it's good to be getting back to the track. It seems like a long time since the last race so everyone in the team is fired up to come out fighting this weekend. Valencia is not such an exciting circuit for me but that doesn't matter so much if we are strong, which we were last year on this track. Unlike somewhere like Monaco, Valencia is actually very fast for a street circuit so that should suit our car pretty well. In fact, it doesn't really feel much like a street circuit at all because it is so much faster than other city tracks. We were in the top six last year in Valencia and that is my target this season. It was good to have both cars in the points in Hungary. The Valencia track has a different character so it's difficult to predict at this stage but my target is to score as many points as possible."
Timo Glock - Car 10
"I really enjoy street circuits and I generally perform very well on them. Valencia was tricky last year for me because I had a bad cold and it was a real challenge just to finish the race, so I didn't enjoy the weekend as much as I could have. This year I am determined to really have fun in the car and hopefully finish even higher than I managed in 2008. We know from last year that overtaking is very difficult on this track so qualifying will be particularly important, which is a similar situation to the previous race in Hungary. After finishing in the top six from 13th on the grid in Budapest, my goal this weekend is to start as high as possible and give myself the best chance for a good result in the race. I had a relaxing time over the summer break but I also did some fitness work as well and I never stop thinking about racing so I am well prepared for this race."
Pascal Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis
"Valencia is by definition a street circuit as the track is based on public roads but in many ways it is different to more typical street circuits like Monaco or Singapore. It is a relatively high-speed track with very long straights; therefore the aerodynamic efficiency requirements are completely different to other street tracks. Unlike Monaco or Singapore, you are not aiming for high downforce, we are looking in the middle of the range, and it is extremely tough on brakes. But in other ways it is still recognisably a street circuit as the barriers are quite close so there is little margin for error. We are confident for this Grand Prix because the circuit corresponds to what appears to be the best aerodynamic efficiency window for our car and we went well there last year. So we are really looking forward to racing again after the summer break and we expect a positive result."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:21 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: European Grand Prix - Toyota Preview
Toyota moves to deny quit rumours
Toyota has moved to deny speculation that it is poised to follow BMW out of Formula 1 at the end of 2009.
Amid widespread suggestions that BMW's departure from the sport will be followed by another manufacturer imminently, rumours have revolved around Toyota.
This has been prompted by the fact that Toyota has not yet signed the Concorde Agreement that would tie it to F1, and the team's F1 president John Howett is in Japan at the moment discussing strategy with the Japanese car manufacturer's chiefs.
However, a spokesman for the Toyota Motor Corporation has dismissed any talk that Toyota is considering its future in F1, with its Concorde Agreement signature expected to be confirmed in the next few days.
"Through cost reduction we will continue our Formula 1 activities," said the spokesman. "Our situation remains unchanged."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:15 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Toyota moves to deny quit rumours
Q and A with Timo Glock
Conducted and provided by Toyota's press office.
Q. Are you happy with sixth place in the Hungarian Grand Prix?
Timo Glock: I am happy with the result in the end, especially considering I started from 13th. To make up seven places at the Hungaroring is not easy, so finishing in sixth is an encouraging result. It was nice to be back in the top six after a few tricky races and this was actually my best result since the podium in Malaysia.
Q. Was it a surprise to finish the race in the top six?
TG: On Saturday I could not have predicted a result like that but the team, like me and Jarno, never give up and they worked really hard to give us both the chance to finish in the points. Our strategy was excellent but a lot of credit goes to my pit crew as well because they did a great job all through the weekend, especially on Saturday when we needed to make some repairs very quickly. Then in the race my pit stops were perfect, which really makes a difference when you are in a close fight for position. Overall it was good team work from everyone and we got our reward.
Q. Realistically, was sixth the best possible result?
TG: We could definitely have been fifth because we had really strong pace throughout the race and I finished directly behind Heikki Kovalainen. However, as you always expect at this track, there was some traffic and that cost me time at the end of my first two stints. Kimi (Raikkonen) came out of the pits just ahead of me both times and, as he had more fuel than I did, he was slower than me. I was able to go quite a bit quicker but overtaking at the Hungaroring is tricky and I just couldn't get past. Without that, I am sure I would have been able to get Kovalainen for fifth. I put in some really quick laps towards the end, including the fifth fastest race lap, and caught him but it wasn't possible to pass.
Q. How did you make up so many positions in the race?
TG: As everyone knows, it is almost impossible to overtake in Hungary so strategy is very important if you are to make up positions. I got a pretty good start and overtook (Rubens) Barrichello so I was 12th at the end of the first lap which meant it was difficult to think about the top six at that point. But we were confident our strategy would help us gain positions during the long first stint; I just had to keep fighting and setting good lap times.
Q. How did the car feel during that first stint?
TG: Obviously we were really heavy at the start of the race and, just like at the Nurburgring, I was one of the last guys to make my first pit stop. It was tricky to start with but I found a good rhythm and my lap times were strong, even though I was heavier than the cars around me. The super soft Bridgestone tyres felt really good and didn't lose performance, even though I did a lot of laps on them, so the car felt spot on.
Q. Are you happy to have a break now? What will you do?
TG: It will be nice to have some time off but I am a racing driver and I love to drive Formula 1 cars, so I would never say I am happy to be away from them! The main priority for me during the summer break is to just relax and spend time with my family and friends; normally I have very little time to do that. It will be a relief to be away from airports for a little while and I will make sure I will get plenty of rest so I am refreshed for the last part of the season. But I won't be just putting my feet up the whole time. I have some fitness work planned with my physio so I will stay in good shape and I'll be really keen to get back in the car for Valencia.
Q. What are your thoughts ahead of the European Grand Prix?
TG: We were strong last year in Valencia so I am hopeful we will be again this time too. Qualifying is an area I want to improve on because that has been a bit frustrating for me in the last couple of races. If we can get the maximum out of the car and tyres over one lap in qualifying, I am sure we will be competitive and that gives us the best chance for the race. As always, my goal is to score as many points as possible; hopefully I can finish higher than my seventh place there last year.
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:15 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Q and A with Timo Glock
Fuji withdraws from F1 schedule
The Japanese Grand Prix is facing an uncertain future after Fuji Speedway announced that it was no longer willing to hold the race.
The Toyota-owned track had been set to share the Japanese round of the World Championship with Honda's Suzuka circuit, alternating on an annual basis.
With Suzuka back on the calendar this year, Fuji was intended as the venue for the 2010 race, but the circuit announced today that it was pulling out of F1 due to the economic downturn.
"In view of the sharply deteriorating business conditions and few signs of a rapid economic recovery, we decided it would be extremely difficult to continue holding the F1 Japanese Grand Prix," said a Fuji statement.
Fuji, which hosted the first Japanese GPs in 1976 and 1977, had undergone a huge revamp to bring it up to F1 standard earlier in the decade, but is now set to exit the schedule having held just two races in the modern era.
It won the right to host the race from Suzuka and returned to the calendar in 2007, when Lewis Hamilton famously won an extraordinarily wet race.
Shortly afterwards, it was announced that Fuji and Suzuka would alternate after 2008, with Suzuka returning this season.
Fernando Alonso won last year's Fuji event, which now appears to have been the circuit's F1 swansong.
With Suzuka's owner Honda having sold its F1 team to Ross Brawn at the start of the year as it felt it could no longer be in the sport during the recession, today's news raises questions about whether Honda would be prepared to hold a GP at Suzuka every year now that it can no longer share the task with Fuji.
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:13 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Fuji withdraws from F1 schedule
German Grand Prix - Preview
Panasonic Toyota Racing makes the very short journey south of its
Cologne base for the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. Only
around 80km separates the team's technical centre from the legendary
track, which first hosted Formula 1 in 1951 and has done so 37 times,
most recently as home to the European Grand Prix. Toyota has a strong
record in qualifying at the Nürburgring, having qualified at least
one car in the top 10 on all of its six previous visits, but only
finished in the points once; Jarno Trulli's eighth place in 2005.
With another set of upgrades to the TF109 for this race, the clear
goal is to rectify that statistic with a strong points finish with
both cars. Following another top-eight finish in the British Grand
Prix at Silverstone last time out, the team has scored in six of the
eight races so far to leave it third in the Constructors'
Championship approaching the mid-point of the season. For his home
race, Timo Glock will wear a special helmet designed by a local
schoolboy, the winner of a Panasonic competition in Germany.
Read more :
http://www.toyota-f1.com/en/season/gp2009/09_germany/preview.html
for more information, please visit our website :
http://www.toyota-f1.com
Drivers Championship
1 Jenson Button Brawn GP Formula One Team 64
2 Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team 41
3 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 39
4 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 35.5
5 Jarno Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing 21.5
6 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 16
7 Nico Rosberg AT&T Williams 15.5
8 Timo Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing 13
9 Fernando Alonso ING Renault F1 Team 11
10 Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 10
11 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 9
12 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team 6
13 Heikki Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 4
14 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 3
15 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team 2
16 Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 2
17 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India F1 Team 0
18 Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 0
19 Nelsinho Piquet ING Renault F1 Team 0
20 Kazuki Nakajima AT&T Williams 0
Constructors Championship
1 Brawn GP Formula One Team 105
2 Red Bull Racing 75
3 Panasonic Toyota Racing 35
4 Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 26
5 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 16
6 AT&T Williams 13
7 ING Renault F1 Team 11
8 BMW Sauber F1 Team 8
9 Scuderia Toro Rosso 5
10 Force India F1 Team 0
---- Race Schedule (All Local Time)-----------------------------------
FORMULA 1 Round 9 Grand Prix of Germany
10th July Friday 10:00-11:30 Free Practice 1
14:00-15:30 Free Practice 2
11th July Saturday 11:00-12:00 Free Practice 3
14:00- Qualifying
12th July Sunday 14:00- Race
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:11 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: German Grand Prix - Preview
McLaren expect improvements at Monaco
McLaren has expressed confidence that its troublesome MP4-24 will be far more competitive on the twisty streets of Monaco next week than it was at the demanding Circuit de Catalunya.
The Woking squad made steady progress improving its car over the season’s opening four rounds, with Lewis Hamilton scoring its best result so far with fourth in Bahrain, but slipped way back in Spain last weekend and failed to score a point.But with Monte Carlo’s absence of fast corners meaning good traction is far more important than strong aerodynamics, McLaren believes the track will expose fewer of its cars weaknesses.
Therefore world champion Lewis Hamilton, who claimed victory in the Principality last year and who makes no secret of his love for the circuit, is expecting to be fighting further up the order.“There’s an expectation that Monaco will be another good circuit for our car package because the combination of low-speed corners and absence of any really fast stuff should suit MP4-24,” he said.
“I really hope so because it would be fantastic to have a competitive car and to be fighting at the front again.”While McLaren is optimistic of a much improved showing on its Barcelona form it is still unlikely to claim a hat-trick of Monaco wins, having also won with Fernando Alonso in 2007.
Nevertheless team boss Martin Whitmarsh says its impressive past record on the streets adds to its general belief that the weekend can be a more positive one.“Everybody at McLaren is rightfully proud of the team’s reputation around the streets of Monte Carlo,” he said.
“We have won the grand prix for the past two seasons and McLaren has triumphed here an unprecedented 15 times – more than any other Formula 1 team. “As a result, we go into the race with a greater degree of optimism than we had going into Barcelona: both Lewis and Heikki enjoy this circuit and we feel MP4-24 will be a more competitive proposition around the streets of the Principality.”Despite the circuit’s lack of long straights and passing opportunities, McLaren will continue to run its KERS device despite teams generally expecting it to give few overall benefits.Heikki Kovalainen admits he is unsure if he will be able to put the system’s power boost function to good use, but nevertheless believes it is the right decision to keep it on the car.
“We will be using KERS in Monaco and one of the questions will be whether we’ll actually be able to use it to get past other cars,” he said.“As usual, KERS will be a benefit for us, but anything can happen in Monte Carlo. “
The Finn himself is looking to improve both his fortunes from the race there in 2008 and from Spain last Sunday (when his car stopped after seven laps).“I really enjoy driving on street circuits and I’m optimistic that we’ve got a good package for Monaco,” Kovalainen added.
“Although the results don’t show it, because I was forced to start from the pitlane, I had a very strong race here last year and charged up from the back to finish eighth.“Coming off the back of a disappointing race in Spain last week, I’m more determined than ever to get a strong result under my belt.”
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:10 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: McLaren expect improvements at Monaco
Toyota F1 Spanish Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
1 J. Button Brawn GP Formula One Team
2 S. Vettel Red Bull Racing
3 R. Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team
4 F. Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
5 M. Webber Red Bull Racing
6 T. Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing
7 J. Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing
8 F. Alonso ING Renault F1 Team
Panasonic Toyota Racing will line up with both cars inside the top
eight for the Spanish Grand Prix after a closely-fought qualifying
session at the Circuit de Catalunya today. Having fine-tuned the
set-up of the TF109 overnight and in final practice, Jarno Trulli and
Timo Glock took to the track on a sunny day with a slight breeze
which saw track temperatures reach 41°C and air temperatures 21°C.
The first qualifying session was typically hectic and, after starting
with the hard Bridgestone Potenza, they made it into Q2 using the
soft options. The battle to reach the top 10 was particularly tense
but, again using the soft tyres, Jarno and Timo delivered on their
last flying laps to progress, with Timo breaking into the top three.
The final session saw three flying laps each on used soft tyres
before one final flat-out run on a new set in the closing moments,
which delivered promising grid positions for tomorrow's race.
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:08 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Toyota F1 Spanish Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
F1 Toyota's Howett wary of McLaren, Ferrari
Toyota F1 president John Howett has urged his team to remain 'paranoid' that big guns McLaren and Ferrari will come back strongly soon - despite its lock-out of the front row at the Bahrain Grand Prix.The Japanese manufacturer has had a strong start to the campaign, taking podium finishes in the first two races, and could be on the verge of a maiden victory at Sakhir after Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock took the first two places on the grid.
With the performance of the TF109 pointing towards a potential title challenge, Howett wants his team to remain cautious."We are in the top three definitely," he told AUTOSPORT. "There is no question about that. We have got to be paranoid that the McLaren and Ferraris are recovering very strongly. But we have got to keep pushing and have confidence. If we can get a really strong result it will help."
Toyota's promising start to the year has eased speculation that the Japanese manufacturer could pull out of F1 – although Howett has reiterated that its future will not be totally secure until it scores a maiden victory."I think in the end Toyota is a winning company – we use the brand slogans on the back of our car relative to the market," he said.
"They are all about pushing the limits and winning. That is the culture in the company. We will never rest until we win, and then we need to win, and then we need to win for half the cost."Howett is refusing to take anything for granted about Toyota's chances for the Bahrain Grand Prix, even though the team appears to have the pace to beat its rivals.
"I am really happy – but qualifying is qualifying. It is only one step to winning. You need to qualify well but now we have got to focus on having a great race and capitalising on the advantage. Until we are there, don't get complacent."He added: "Yes, the car is quick. Relative to Brawn and Red Bull, I think it is very, very tight. And you can see some of the others catching up now. So, it means no sleep."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:07 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: F1 Toyota's Howett wary of McLaren, Ferrari
Toyota Bahrain Grand Prix - Preview F1 2009
Panasonic Toyota Racing returns to action swiftly after the Chinese
Grand Prix with a trip to the Middle East for the Bahrain Grand Prix
on the Bahrain International Circuit at Sakhir. The team benefits
from extensive recent experience of the track with the TF109, having
spent two weeks testing there in February, completing 3,847km over
711 laps. Toyota has scored points in every race so far this season,
with Timo Glock claiming a fighting seventh place in China on a day
when Jarno Trulli was eliminated after being hit from behind by a
rival. This weekend the team will again use the super soft and
medium compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres, having previously used
these in both China and Australia. Toyota has a strong record in
Bahrain and already has experience of the podium there following
Jarno's second place in 2005. More recently, Jarno finished sixth
there last year while Timo was ninth after a late gearbox issue
denied him points.
Read more :
http://www.toyota-f1.com/en/season/gp2009/04_bahrain/preview.html
for more information, please visit our website :
http://www.toyota-f1.com
Drivers Championship
1 Jenson Button Brawn GP Formula One Team 21
2 Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team 15
3 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 10
4 Timo Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing 10
5 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 9.5
6 Jarno Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing 8.5
7 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team 4
8 Fernando Alonso ING Renault F1 Team 4
9 Heikki Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 4
10 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 4
11 Nico Rosberg AT&T Williams 3.5
12 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 3
13 Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1
14 Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 0
15 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 0
16 Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 0
17 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India F1 Team 0
18 Kazuki Nakajima AT&T Williams 0
19 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team 0
20 Nelsinho Piquet ING Renault F1 Team 0
Constructors Championship
1 Brawn GP Formula One Team 36
2 Red Bull Racing 19.5
3 Panasonic Toyota Racing 18.5
4 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 8
5 BMW Sauber F1 Team 4
6 ING Renault F1 Team 4
7 Scuderia Toro Rosso 4
8 AT&T Williams 3.5
9 Force India F1 Team 0
10 Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 0
---- Race Schedule (All Local Time)-----------------------------------
FORMULA 1 Round 4 Grand Prix of Bahrain
24th April Friday 10:00-11:30 Free Practice 1
14:00-15:30 Free Practice 2
25th April Saturday 11:00-12:00 Free Practice 3
14:00- Qualifying
26th April Sunday 15:00- Race
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 18:48
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Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:02 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Toyota Bahrain Grand Prix - Preview F1 2009
F1 Toyotas Chinese Grand Prix - Preview
Panasonic Toyota Racing continues the 2009 Formula 1 season with
another trip eastwards, this time to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand
Prix, which comes much earlier in the season than its usual autumn
spot. Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli finished third and fourth
respectively in the Malaysian Grand Prix last time out, reversing
the result in Australia and taking the team's Formula 1 podium tally
to 10. After the race the team briefly returned home to its
technical centre in Cologne, Germany before making the trip to China,
although the cars and equipment went directly from Sepang to
Shanghai. Last year Timo Glock finished seventh in China to score
more points in his debut season while Jarno Trulli was eliminated in
an early accident. Toyota has finished on the podium before in China,
in 2005 with Ralf Schumacher, and that will be the target again this
weekend.
Drivers Championship
1 Jenson Button Brawn GP Formula One Team 15
2 Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team 10
3 Jarno Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing 8.5
4 Timo Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing 8
5 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team 4
6 Fernando Alonso ING Renault F1 Team 4
7 Nico Rosberg AT&T Williams 3.5
8 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 2
9 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1.5
10 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1
11 Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1
12 Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 0
13 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 0
14 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India F1 Team 0
15 Kazuki Nakajima AT&T Williams 0
16 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 0
17 Nelsinho Piquet ING Renault F1 Team 0
18 Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 0
19 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team 0
20 Heikki Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 0
Constructors Championship
1 Brawn GP Formula One Team 25
2 Panasonic Toyota Racing 16.5
3 BMW Sauber F1 Team 4
4 ING Renault F1 Team 4
5 AT&T Williams 3.5
6 Scuderia Toro Rosso 3
7 Red Bull Racing 1.5
8 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1
9 Force India F1 Team 0
10 Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 0
---- Race Schedule (All Local Time)-----------------------------------
FORMULA 1 Round 3 Grand Prix of China
17th April Friday 10:00-11:30 Practice Session 1
14:00-15:30 Practice Session 2
18th April Saturday 11:00-12:00 Practice Session 3
14:00- Qualifying
19th April Sunday 15:00- Race
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 13:01 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: F1 Toyotas Chinese Grand Prix - Preview
Toyota 'had doubts' about its F1 future
Toyota team principal Tadashi Yamashina has revealed that he had to battle to keep the company in Formula 1 this season.
The Japanese car giant posted its first ever operating loss in December last year, just weeks after arch-rival Honda announced its departure from grand prix racing.
Toyota rapidly quelled consequent speculation about its F1 future by affirming its commitment to the sport. But Yamashina has now admitted that a pull-out had been seriously considered.
"I stressed again and again in the company's executive board meetings there was no way we should pull out, although we have to drastically cut our costs," he told Japanese newspaper the Daily Yomiuri.
"Obviously our negative business reports did cause some doubt."
He said major sponsor Panasonic's continued commitment had been crucial to keeping Toyota in F1.
"So I was extremely happy that Panasonic decided to renew its contract with us even though they also had some financial trouble," said Yamashina. "Their understanding of what we are doing allowed us to keep racing."
He also remains convinced that F1 provides good value for Toyota.
"We have competed in the F1 circuit over the past seven years, which I believe has helped to invigorate our company and contributed to the sales of our products," said Yamashina.
The team boss is confident that Toyota is set for a major step forward this season, its car having impressed so far in winter testing.
"We must win," Yamashina said. "I'm sure of our team's potential to win a GP title after watching the final test on Thursday. Our team is definitely better than that of last year."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 12:58 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: f1 team toyota
Toyota welcomes stewards' decision
Toyota has welcomed the FIA stewards' decision to clear the design of its diffuser following a protest lodged by rival teams.
The team had defended its design was legal, but Ferrari, BMW, Renault and Red Bull Racing today lodged a protest against the Japanese squad as well as against Williams and Brawn GP.
All cars were cleared on Thursday night, however, and they will be able to race on Sunday.
"We are pleased with the decision of the race stewards but we prefer not to comment further on the situation," said Toyota Motorsport Chairman Tadashi Yamashina.
"This weekend promises to be a tremendously exciting Australian Grand Prix so we are now looking forward to starting the competition on track with the first practice sessions on Friday."
Toyota said in a statement that it had "studied the wording of the new 2009 regulations in precise detail to ensure that we have interpreted them correctly."
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 12:58 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Toyota f1 diffuser
Toyotas thrown out of qualifying
The two Toyotas have been disqualified from the Melbourne qualifying results due to technical infringements.
The race stewards declared that the wings on Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli's cars had flexed excessively.
Wings have to be kept at a certain level of rigidity because a car's downforce at different parts of the circuit can be increased if they flex.
"The Stewards have received a report from the Technical Delegate that the upper rear wing elements of cars No. 9 and 10 are showing extreme flexibility in contravention of Article 3.15 of the 2009 Formula One Technical Regulations," said a stewards' statement.
"The Stewards have heard the explanation from a representative of Panasonic Toyota Racing and have examined the cars in question.
"The Stewards concur with the opinion of the Technical Delegate and find the cars contravene the requirements of Article 3.15 of the 2009 Formula One Technical Regulations.
"It is the Stewards decision that cars number 9 and 10 be excluded from the Qualifying Session Official Classification."
The decision means that Glock and Trulli fall from sixth and eighth places to the rear of the grid.
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 12:56 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Toyotas qualifying mistake australia
Toyota f1 australian result
Panasonic Toyota Racing started the 2009 Formula 1 season with a trip to the podium and a double points finish in an exciting Australian Grand Prix. Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock started from the pit lane but battling opening laps saw both fight their way up the order. Jarno started on the super soft Bridgestone Potenza tyres and made an early pit stop for mediums while Timo was initially on the mediums, preferring a longer first stint. With plenty of incident elsewhere on the track, the two Toyotas made their way into the top 10, passing several cars on the way before a breath-taking final few laps. Jarno's long final stint saw him move into the points when other cars made their final pit stops and he showed great pace to come within sight of the podium, which became a reality after a late accident for two rivals lifted him to third. Timo chose to finish the race on the super soft tyres and passed several cars in a short final stint to take fifth as the race finished behind the safety car. Race stewards subsequently handed Jarno a 25s penalty for overtaking under safety car conditions, but the team has filed an appeal within the proscribed time period.
Posted by Sam L. Clemens at 12:53 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Toyota f1 australian result
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▼ 2009 (30)
▼ October (2)
Toyota has 'probably lost' Kubica
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blo...
► September (6)
Japanese Grand Prix - Preview
Singapore Grand Prix - Race Round-Up
Singapore Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blo...
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blo...
Belgian Grand Prix - Arai Report for Toyota
► August (22)
Trulli vows to push for Toyota's first win
Belgian Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
Formula One F1 Formation lap Grand Prix racing blo...
Toyota blames qualifying for struggles
Belgian Grand Prix Technical Preview
European Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
Trulli shocked by Q1 exit
European Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
European Grand Prix - Toyota Preview
Toyota moves to deny quit rumours
Q and A with Timo Glock
Fuji withdraws from F1 schedule
German Grand Prix - Preview
McLaren expect improvements at Monaco
Toyota F1 Spanish Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up...
F1 Toyota's Howett wary of McLaren, Ferrari
Toyota Bahrain Grand Prix - Preview F1 2009
F1 Toyotas Chinese Grand Prix - Preview
Toyota 'had doubts' about its F1 future
Toyota welcomes stewards' decision
Toyotas thrown out of qualifying
Toyota f1 australian result
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