Bahrain Grand Prix – Preview
BAHRAIN COME AGAIN
After the team’s positive start to the 2007 F1 season,
Panasonic Toyota Racing is now on its way to compete in this
weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix. Taking place at Sakhir,
an oasis of tarmac in the middle of the desert, the race makes
up the second part of the double-header that began with yesterday’s
Malaysian Grand Prix. Most of the grid took advantage of two
weeks of testing in Bahrain before the start of the season
so it will be fresh in the memory as they return to the Middle
East. The Bahrain Grand Prix has so far provided mixed memories
for Toyota. In 2005 the team made the podium courtesy of Jarno
Trulli’s second place but last year’s race was
one to forget. Now both Jarno and team-mate Ralf Schumacher
will look to build on Toyota’s points-scoring start
to the season on Sunday.
Ralf Schumacher (Car 11): “The home
of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir, is one of the latest breed
of race tracks and a great modern facility. We know that Bahrain
will be hot but the heat should not be exceptional and it
is less humid than the last race in Malaysia. Even if we do
face extreme conditions the teams have so much experience
that from a technical point of view it shouldn’t make
too much difference. We had a mixed time here during the two
weeks of testing before the season but we were able to make
some improvements towards the end. Since then we have made
a strong start to the season but we clearly have some work
to do to catch the top teams. Still, you need to watch a few
races before you get a clear picture of the situation. I didn’t
have the best of races in Malaysia but we will look for an
improved performance and better finish in Bahrain.”
Jarno Trulli (Car 12): “We have had
a solid start to 2007 and while we performed well in Melbourne
and Malaysia, Bahrain has proved difficult for us in the past.
I was delighted to make the podium here in 2005 but last year
we had a problem because it was the first race and we didn’t
fully understand how to make the most of our package with
our new tyres. At this year’s pre-season test at Sakhir
we struggled too. So it’s never been our track but there
is no particular reason why it should be hard for us. It’s
an incredible venue with state-of-the-art facilities and it
is not a difficult track from a driving perspective. It is
hard on braking and there is always wind which brings dust
and sand onto the track. Otherwise it is a very clean, smooth
circuit with few bumps. We have had a reliable start to the
year and we head to Bahrain looking to improve our fortunes
in the kingdom with a good result.”
Pascal Vasselon – Senior General Manager Chassis:
“The Malaysian Grand Prix showed we had progressed
since Melbourne so we must now look to build on that. Bahrain
was the first race of 2006 and our worst race of the year.
Because we hadn’t tested in warm weather before the
start of the season we didn’t discover that we had bigger
than expected warming up issues with our new tyres. It was
also slightly cooler than usual with track temperatures of
35 degrees Celsius. This year the race is later in the year
so we expect it to be warmer. Our pre-season test at Bahrain
this year didn’t go too well – which triggered
most of the alarms in the outside world about our form. But
the main problem was that we had many reliability issues.
They were all minor and have since been solved but it limited
our running time and limited our pace. At the following test
at Jerez our reliability was better and so was the pace. In
Malaysia we had developments to the suspension and a new floor
and engine cover. We will run the same package in Bahrain
before a big aero update for the next race at Barcelona. We
will hope to return to Europe on the back of another strong
performance.”
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