San Marino Grand Prix - Race Round-Up
Panasonic Toyota Racing suffered a frustrating afternoon's
work in the San Marino Grand Prix. Both Ralf Schumacher and
Jarno Trulli qualified in the top ten but they endured mixed
fortunes under the sun at Imola. Ralf narrowly missed out
on the points, taking 9th place after a battling race on a
three-stop strategy. Jarno suffered a problem with his steering
column and was forced to retire early on. Toyota is scheduled
to test at France's Paul Ricard circuit next week as it bids
to make steps forward for the coming races. Then the team
will look to bounce back with a stronger performance at the
European Grand Prix in two weeks' time.
SAN ZERO
Ralf Schumacher raced strongly on a three-stop strategy on
his way to an eventual 9th place, just outside the points.
Ralf Schumacher (Car 7, Chassis TF106/05)
Race Classification: 9th
Gap: +45.511s (from race winner)
Qualifying Classification: 6th
Time: 1m23.772s (+0.977s in Session 3)
Grid: 6th
"It is a pity that we missed out on the points but that
was not the best afternoon for me. We had a very aggressive
strategy but circumstances played against us. We were a bit
unlucky with traffic and the safety car didn't help us but
we also struggled for grip in the early stints. The pace improved
in the latter stages when I was gaining ground on Fisichella
and Button so there must be some problem. I don't think it
is related to the tyres because other Bridgestone teams did
a good job so we need to investigate where the issue lies.
We will test some new items next week and I believe we can
improve at the European Grand Prix."
COLUMN FLINCHES
Jarno Trulli's run of misfortune in 2006 continued as he had
to retire on lap 5 with a problem with his steering column.
Jarno Trulli (Car 8, Chassis TF106/04)
Race Classification: DNF
Qualifying Classification: 9th
Time: 1m24.172s (+1.377s in Session 3)
Grid: 9th
"A lot of bad luck seems to be coming my way at the
moment and today was no exception. We still have to investigate
exactly what happened but something seemed to go wrong with
the steering column and that meant I had to retire. It's a
pity because we have been looking good all weekend and I was
confident that we could have had a better day today. I made
a very good start and I made up a place on Raikkonen as I
went through the field. Unfortunately the car in front had
a moment at the first corner so I had to slow down. It's frustrating
because whatever I do, something goes wrong. But I will keep
pushing because I know that the team and the package are good.
Once everything starts working for me I know I will have a
lot of success."
VARIANTE CLIMAX
Panasonic Toyota Racing endured a frustrating afternoon at
Imola, narrowly missing out on increasing its points haul.
Tsutomu Tomita - Team Principal
"It was a disappointing Sunday for us and the results
were not so good. But I'm sure that our car is quicker than
it was able to show today. It performed well this weekend
and was well matched to the Bridgestone tyre in the conditions.
Unfortunately the race started very badly when Jarno had to
stop with a mechanical problem with his steering column. We
are very disappointed about that so apologies to him. Ralf
raced hard on a three-stop strategy which should work here
because of the short pit lane. However you risk losing out
if you have a safety car in the first stint, which is exactly
what happened. That meant the strategy was hampered early
on. He had some inconsistency with grip during the race which
we need to investigate but Ralf's pace in the last stint when
he was free of traffic was good and encouraging. I am sure
that our car has the potential to bring better results in
the next few races. Nonetheless we clearly need to develop
further and push hard to improve performance during the coming
tests."
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