Australian Grand Prix – Race Round-Up
OFF THE MARK
Panasonic Toyota Racing will leave Melbourne with a solitary
point courtesy of Ralf Schumacher’s eighth place at
today’s Australian Grand Prix. Jarno Trulli was next
home in 9th place, just outside the points on a sunny day
at Albert Park when track temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius.
After yesterday’s strong performance in qualifying,
Jarno and Ralf lined up in 8th and 9th on the grid. Ralf made
it in front into the first corner and the pair ran in line
astern for most of the first stint. The race spaced out after
that but they ended up coming home in the same positions.
The 2007 rules state that all cars must use both types of
tyre during the race and both drivers used the softer tyre
for their final stint. Towards the end of the race Ralf started
to lose pneumatic pressure in his engine but he made it home
to kick off the team’s account for 2007. Toyota is next
scheduled to test at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit starting
on March 27 as it looks to build on this result at next month’s
Malaysian Grand Prix.
Ralf Schumacher (Car 11, Chassis TF107/03)
Race Classification 8th Gap: +1 lap (from race winner)
Qualifying Classification 9th Time: 1m 28.692s (+2.620s in
Q3) Grid: 9th
“We had expected to be in the top ten but to bring
two cars home is a good result in the first race. The conditions
were good for the race but the car was a little difficult
so it was hard work at times. Towards the end of the race
we had a problem with pneumatic pressure but we made it to
the finish and it’s good to come away with a point.
We became faster towards the end and the strategy worked well,
we just need to work on the speed now. We have some performance
to catch up so we have to develop our car to get closer. I
remain confident because the chance is there to improve. It
will just be a matter of concentrating on each area and working
hard.”
Jarno Trulli (Car 12, Chassis TF107/04)
Race Classification 9th Gap: +1 lap (from race winner)
Qualifying Classification 8th Time: 1m 28.404s (+2.332s in
Q3) Grid: 8th
“That was a difficult afternoon for me and it was a
pity that I just missed out on the points. The car made a
poor start and I lost two places into the first corner. I
made a good move to gain one back on the first lap but then
I was held up behind Ralf for the first stint. I lost more
time when Fisichella pulled out of the pits in front of me.
I couldn’t get past him and because he was heavy on
fuel I lost ground. From then on I was unable to make much
more impact. The balance of the car was not too bad but there
was no way to gain places. Later I had trouble with my brakes
so my pace dropped further. Still, we made the finish and
after our hard winter of testing it has been a reasonable
weekend.”
Tsutomu Tomita – Team Principal
“After the first race of this season we have a valuable
one point from Ralf so that is a good start. The starting
grid positions were not bad but the race pace of both cars
was not quick enough compared to the front-runners. So we
are definitely too far away compared to where we want to be
and we have some work to do. Jarno had an oil spillage as
he left for the parade lap but that was not a major issue.
Later on Ralf had a pneumatic consumption problem and it was
marginal to reach the finish. Jarno also had trouble with
his brakes but in the end it was successful because they both
finished the race. After our trouble with reliability during
winter testing that is gratifying. The tyres were good but
there was some degradation during the final stint on soft
tyres. Nevertheless, in good track conditions and good weather,
we were not competitive enough so we have to keep working
hard to develop our cars.”
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