British Grand Prix - Preview
GREY SUNNY EXPECTATIONS
After the glamour of Monte Carlo the Formula 1 is heading
back to the rather greyer surroundings of Silverstone. This
former airfield in the English county of Northamptonshire
has a long motor racing heritage and it has been the permanent
home for the British Grand Prix for 20 years. The joys of
the English summer usually ensure that there is some kind
of input from the weather in the course of the weekend. This
year's race has been brought forward a month from its usual
July date so the chances of rain are even higher than usual.
Whatever happens the Panasonic Toyota Racing team will retain
a sunny disposition as it seeks to make up for the misfortune
experienced at recent races.
Ralf Schumacher (Car 7): "You can't
really talk about the British Grand Prix without mentioning
the weather. Indeed, the fact that we are racing at Silverstone
in June - a month earlier than its traditional July date -
means that it is an important factor in our preparations.
The team will spend more time than usual looking at wet strategy.
We also have to leave our options open for set-up as the weekend
progresses because there is always a chance of a shower. But
even in the dry the wind can be a factor because the surrounding
area is so flat. The first half of the lap is particularly
prone to wind changes and that can affect a quick lap. It
was difficult to assess the TF106B around the twisty Monaco
circuit. But we should have a clearer picture at Silverstone
and I'm sure we will have better results."
Jarno Trulli (Car 8): "Silverstone
is a long and demanding circuit from both a driving and an
engineering perspective. Finding a set-up for the entire lap
is a challenge because the track has every type of corner.
You need traction out of the slow corners and efficient aero
through the faster corners. Becketts is the most fun part
of the circuit but a driver needs to be committed everywhere
to get the most out of the lap time. So a well balanced car
is crucial to respond to the range of features on the track
and to let the driver push to the limit. Monaco was not the
right place to judge the TF106B but the car behaved well in
the race. It has also showed promise during testing so I'm
confident the car is a step forward but we can't yet say how
much. We'll head to Silverstone hoping for a stronger weekend.
After my difficult run this year I'm ready for a change of
luck!"
Pascal Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis:
"After winding our way around Monaco last week, Silverstone
will give us a better chance to assess the performance of
the TF106B on a high speed circuit. The track is similar to
Barcelona in terms of technical characteristics, with many
long high speed corners. So that leads to the same kind of
compromise with the aerodynamic package. We run fairly high
levels of downforce but have to avoid the drag penalty down
the long straights. Barcelona does not have such high speed
changes of direction as we see at Becketts, though, so we
need some front end understeer in order to achieve stability.
Like Barcelona we will also be looking at the harder end of
the Bridgestone range of tyres - but in Britain we also pay
closer attention than usual to wets! We can get a good idea
of the temperature range a week before the event but we will
be avidly checking the weather forecast for cloud coverage
between now and Sunday."
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