Brazilian Grand Prix - Preview
SAO LONG 2006
A long, hard season comes to an end for Panasonic Toyota
Racing with the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. After
a double points finish in its home race in Japan last time
out, the team heads to Sao Paulo for Formula One's only visit
to South America. The annual trip to Brazil brings a samba
flavour to the paddock and the undulating, bumpy Interlagos
circuit, in a suburb of sprawling Sao Paulo, throws up a unique
challenge for drivers. In front of some of the most passionate
motorsport fans in the world and on one of Formula One's most
historic circuits, Toyota hopes to finish the season on a
high. After 17 tough races, Toyota has fifth place in the
Constructors' Championship in its sights and Ralf Schumacher
and Jarno Trulli will be giving their all to end the season
on a positive note.
Ralf Schumacher (Car 7): "Interlagos
is one of the most demanding tracks on the calendar –
both for the drivers and for the technical team. For the drivers
it is difficult because of the bumps, even though it is less
bumpy than it used to be after they changed the track surface.
From the technical side, you need a compromise between achieving
the maximum downforce and getting the best top speed. It is
important to have as much mechanical grip as possible in the
tight infield, particularly in corners such as Pinheirinho
and Bico de Pato, but on the other hand, you need a strong
top speed for the two long straights, where ideally you would
have as little wing as possible. This weekend is the end of
a challenging year for us but we have worked hard and improved
a lot in the second half of the season. I had a pretty tough
race in Brazil last year but I at least managed to get into
the top eight. I think we can do the same this year - but
I hope this time I can score more than one point!"
Jarno Trulli (Car 8): "I have always
enjoyed the Brazilian Grand Prix. Interlagos is a technically
demanding track and I enjoy the mix of low and high speed
sections. There are also other aspects which make it quite
complicated, for example it is one of only three anti-clockwise
tracks on the calendar and that can make it tough on the neck
as the race goes on. As far as the car is concerned, the circuit
demands a strong engine from Turn 12 to Turn 1 as it is flat-out
with a steep uphill climb. But you must also compromise a
bit on set-up. You need downforce for the twisty parts but
there is only really one overtaking opportunity, into Turn
1, so you have to make sure you don't have too much rear wing
and become an easy target on the straight. Last year I had
a weekend to forget, losing 10 places on the grid before getting
stuck in traffic in the race. I hope to improve on that and,
after our strong performance in Japan, end the year with a
result for the whole team to celebrate."
Pascal Vasselon – Senior General Manager Chassis:
"One of the first things you think about at Interlagos
is the bumps - they have made several attempts to get rid
of them but they are still there. They particularly affect
the car early in the weekend and that seems to be either because
the driver needs to get used to them or because their effect
is worse with low grip. When the grip increases it is not
that much of a problem so the best thing you can do is not
to over-react and make too many changes. The flat-out up hill
section is quite demanding for engines but overall the demands
on the car are pretty standard – the tyres are in the
middle of the range and it is average in terms of brakes,
aero and engine contribution to lap time. The only exceptional
aspect is in the wet because it can rain in hot temperatures
and that is really tough for the wet tyres as they run at
much higher temperatures than usual. Normally when we go there
it is hot and if it rains it is very heavy but dries very
quickly and you can go from extreme weather tyres to dry tyres
in just a few laps. Personally, I have good memories of Brazil
and, even though you should never be too confident, we should
be strong at Interlagos so I am optimistic."
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