Chinese Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
SHORT AND SWEET AND SOUR
Panasonic Toyota Racing heads into tomorrow's Chinese Grand
Prix with everything to do after struggling in a wet qualifying
session today. The weather had already interrupted much of
the three practice sessions and a downpour that began shortly
before qualifying ensured the Shanghai International Circuit
was wet throughout. Q1 bore the brunt of the rain and those
conditions proved to be a struggle for Toyota, with both cars
lacking grip. Indeed for the first time this year neither
Ralf Schumacher nor Jarno Trulli made it through to Q2 so
it was a short afternoon's work. Due to Massa's engine penalty
they are now scheduled to start from 16th and 17th positions
respectively tomorrow. Despite the lowly grid positions Toyota
is confident of gaining ground during what will be a difficult
afternoon.
Ralf Schumacher (Car 7, Chassis TF106/10B)
PROVISIONAL GRID: 16th
Free Practice Session 3: 19th, 14 laps
Lap Time: 1m46.023s (+5.830s)
Q1: 17th, 9 laps
Lap Time: 1m48.894s (+4.766s)
"That was a difficult afternoon for all of us as it
was a real struggle for grip out there. Still, both Jarno
and I were a bit unlucky with the red flag coming out at the
wrong time, just when we were nearing the end of our fastest
laps. The track got worse over the course of Q1 and by the
end it was too wet to improve our times. There was obviously
a lot of traffic too so there was a lot of spray, but that's
just the way it is. If you're in the middle of the pack or
at the back of a long line of traffic then it is very hard
to see anything. But the fact is that in these conditions
the other tyre competitor looked strong so we will have a
lot of work tonight to prepare for tomorrow. The car was working
well as we showed in the morning. It will be a long race tomorrow
so hopefully the weather will suit us better and we can move
up."
Jarno Trulli (Car 8, Chassis TF106/08B)
PROVISIONAL GRID: 17th
Free Practice Session 3: 17th, 12 laps
Lap Time: 1m44.027s (+3.834s)
Q1: 18th, 9 laps
Lap Time: 1m49.048s (+4.920s)
"Of course we were not as competitive today as we expected.
Still, I could have made it through to Q2 but for the red
flag which came out while I was on my quickest lap. Nevertheless,
it was clear that we were lacking grip. We went out on the
standard wet tyres for our early runs, before switching to
full wets for the final runs as the track got wetter. We were
right at the limit so it was a difficult choice to make. By
the time we went out after the red flag the track was very
wet and there was no way to improve our time. Obviously we
still have some work to do on our performance in these conditions.
Tomorrow could still be a wet race so it certainly won't be
easy for us but we'll try our best."
Pascal Vasselon – Senior General Manager Chassis
"Qualifying was a short story for us today due to a combination
of two factors. The red flag came while both our cars were
in the final sector of their quickest laps and we were in
a position to considerably improve our lap times. At the same
time, we obviously were lacking tyre grip today, which meant
that we had absolutely no margin. Both drivers went out on
standard wet tyres at the start, which was the right choice
at the time before the track became much wetter later in the
session. When the two drivers went out for their last runs
after the red flag the line was much wetter. There was time
for only one timed lap and it was impossible to improve because
there was simply too much traffic. The weather remains uncertain
for tomorrow, as it has been all weekend, with a high risk
of rain. Obviously we would not look forward to a full wet
race. But in this morning's practice session the track evolved
from very wet at the start to dry by the end. We went out
on race fuel at different times throughout the hour to understand
tyre behaviour in all those different circumstances. That
worked well so we should have a good idea of when to switch
from between the tyres on a drying track. We have a hard race
ahead but we will push hard to move up through the field."
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