European Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
Qualifying for the European Grand Prix got underway today
at the Nürburgring - a now modern track which is welcoming
this grand prix race since 1984. Many changes have been made
to the ring over the years, including making overtaking easier
in some corners. Panasonic Toyota Racing's drivers Ralf Schumacher
and Jarno Trulli will look to take advantage of this during
the weekend to improve on the team's position. Today's results
proved strong even though Ralf did not make into the third
qualifying session. Nevertheless, Jarno can be satisfied with
his 7th place starting position and Ralf will line up in 10th
place on the grid after having received notification from
the FIA that another driver who qualified in the first ten
will have an engine change.
ON THE UPTURN
Jarno Trulli overcame the vibration concern in his car to
take an optimistic 7th starting place after today's qualifying
session.
Jarno Trulli (Car 8, Chassis TF106/04)
Provisional Grid: 7th
Free Practice Session 3: 18th, 24 laps completed
Lap time: 1m33.120s (+2.332s)
Qualifying Session 1: 13, 6 laps completed
Lap Time: 1m31.809s (+0.671s)
Qualifying Session 2: 7th, 6 laps completed
Lap Time: 1m30.733s (+0.720s)
Qualifying Session 3: 7th, 14 laps completed
Lap time: 1m31.419s (+1.600s)
"First of all I have to thank my team and all my mechanics,
because yesterday we had a problem with the car, which we
could not solve during the practice. They all worked hard
through the night changing out the chassis to give me the
chance to run well today and to avoid any problems. This morning
went quite smooth and we built up confidence with the set-up
during the session. I am really satisfied with the lap I did
at the end because being seventh is a definite improvement
on the performance we have had."
HEADING INTO HOMEBASE
Ralf Schumacher will start his home race holding 10th place
even after having a small spin out during qualifying.
Ralf Schumacher (Car 7, Chassis TF106/05)
Provisional Grid: 10th
Free Practice Session 3: 3rd, 21 laps completed
Lap time: 1m31.395s (+0.607s)
Qualifying Session 1: 6th, 6 laps completed
Lap Time: 1m31.470s (+0.834s)
Qualifying Session 2: 11th, 7 laps completed
Lap Time: 1m30.9444s (+0.931s)
"The day started out quite positive during the practice
session. The qualifying was a tough fight and I actually thought
I would make into the last round. The car felt good, the grip
was good, and we were hoping to make more of the session.
Unfortunately I had a spin in Turn 1, and even though I went
out again, I lost three tenths of a second time in the new
lap. Now we will have to concentrate on gaining positions
during the race, which will make for a challenging day tomorrow.
Yet as in we saw in Malaysia, I am confident we can work our
way up into the points."
FOCUSING AHEAD
Panasonic Toyota Racing experienced mixed fortunes during
today's qualifying and is now focussing on taking home valuable
points during tomorrow's race.
Pascal Vasselon – Senior General Manager Chassis
"Overall today's results are encouraging for the whole
team. We are quite pleased with the final outcome for Jarno,
considering the concerns we had yesterday. He was really motivated
and pushed hard during all three sessions. Unfortunately Ralf
missed the opportunity to resume in the third qualification
after having locked up the brakes in Turn 1. He will start
midfield which will not cause a large concern, as we will
adapt our strategy accordingly. With both cars running reliably
without any issues, we are optimistic going into tomorrow."
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