Spanish Grand Prix - Preview
Panasonic Toyota Racing will make its next stop at the Spanish
Grand Prix, which is being held at the Circuit de Catalunya
for the 16th time. The team will work hard towards repeating
last year's race results, where Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher
took 3rd and 4th place respectively. The circuit has built
additional grandstands this year, and this is likely to attract
record crowds. The Spanish Grand Prix is always known to be
an exciting race, as the Circuit de Catalunya is a favoured
testing venue. Because all teams and drivers know the track
very well, it is likely to be a tight race. Panasonic Toyota
Racing will also profit from its past experience with the
track having already made three stops for testing this year
and putting in little over 6,000 cumulated kilometres.
CHANGE IS IN THE WIND
After having to retire just before end of the race at the
Nürburgring, Ralf Schumacher is motivated to get back
into action in Barcelona.
Ralf Schumacher (Car 7): "We have been
doing quite well during testing in Barcelona. We are in the
upper middle field, better in the race than in qualifying
– at least in my case – and so I'm quite happy
about that. We showed that we could have a strong race performance
at the Nürburgring, it was just unfortunate for the whole
team that we had an engine failure. I am confident however
that after analyzing the data we will find the right solution
for the coming races. Although I have tested there many times,
the Circuit de Catalunya is always a bit tricky due to the
wind, which makes it hard to find the right aerodynamic set-up.
Tyre choice is also another difficult matter, but I am sure
we will be able to fall back on our testing data here from
the last tests. Overall, we are certainly on the right track,
a little patience is needed but when the time comes, we will
pick up some points and defend our last year's championship
position."
THREE TIMES A WINNER
Jarno Trulli has achieved two podiums in his career to date
at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2004 (3rd place) and 2005 (3rd
place). This year he will be looking to turn this into a hat
trick by achieving another podium position.
Jarno Trulli (Car 8): "The Circuit
de Catalunya is a track I know very well, just like most of
the other drivers in the field. Because the track is quite
demanding with four high-speed corners and few chances for
overtaking, we will have to concentrate on having good aerodynamic
performance. There is a long main straight but it is a fast
corner coming onto it and it is quite difficult to stay close
to the car in front. The overtaking situation is a little
bit better since they have changed the layout of Turn 10.
It all means that a lot of the lap is spent in corners and
so the car's balance has to be absolutely right. Reliability
and tyre wear are also two factors that are always important,
especially because all the teams that go there know their
set-ups already. I have had some good races here including
the two podiums I have achieved the last two years and I am
definitely looking to repeat this again this year."
IT'S ALL IN THE MIX
Familiarity of the track can be an advantage for the Panasonic
Toyota Racing team; however it will still be challenging to
find the right set-up and strategy.
Pascal Vasselon – Senior General Manager Chassis:
"The right use of previous test data is always a key
and critical item within Barcelona preparation. There is usually
a large change of track conditions between the last test and
race event, when temperatures start to heat up. We have especially
learned from the past how to handle the tyre choice and take
into account the expected track evolution. It leads to two
tyre specifications which are more similar than on other tracks
where no test data are available. Otherwise, brakes play little
role in Barcelona, which is mainly about aerodynamic efficiency
of the package and we will be looking to have the best package
taking all elements into consideration."
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