Chinese Grand Prix – Free Practice Round-Up
FRIDAY RISE
Panasonic Toyota Racing today kicked off its preparations
for the Chinese Grand Prix with a busy day of work at the
Shanghai International Circuit. The two Friday practice sessions
took place in warm conditions but under cloudy skies. The
weather could yet play a part in the action as rain is forecast
for later in the weekend. Toyota’s race drivers Ralf
Schumacher and Jarno Trulli both enjoyed a clear day of running.
The team changed the car’s floor over the lunch break
with positive results. Jarno ended the afternoon session with
the 5th fastest time while Ralf, competing in his penultimate
race for Toyota, was 7th. The engineers will now look to build
on this solid start as they prepare for qualifying and Sunday’s
race.
Jarno Trulli (Car 12, Chassis TF107/04)
First Session 7th 30 laps completed Lap Time: 1m 38.208s (+1.184s)
Second Session 5th 36 laps completed Lap Time: 1m 37.151s
(+0.544s)
“Today went smoothly and we got through our usual programme
of tyre testing and set-up. Our long run pace was consistent
but we still have some problems with balance. So we need to
work a little more on the data in order to find more grip
and speed. We’ve had a poor run of form but now we must
forget everything and concentrate on this weekend. It’s
frustrating not to have scored points for such a long time
so that remains the aim for this weekend and we will continue
to push as hard as possible.”
Ralf Schumacher (Car 11, Chassis TF107/05)
First Session 12th 23 laps completed Lap Time: 1m 38.661s
(+1.637s)
Second Session 7th 32 laps completed Lap Time: 1m 37.524s
(+0.917s)
“The sessions went without any problems and we were
able to test everything that we had planned. The track conditions
were quite slippery but overall I am happy with our progress.
This is my second last race for Toyota but that does not mean
that my motivation is any way affected. It’s been a
hard year but the whole team remains focused on the job in
hand. We will continue to push until the end of the season.
I just want to finish off the last two races with as much
success as possible and hopefully bring home the best possible
result.”
Dieter Gass – Chief Engineer Race and Test
“That was a positive day for us. In the afternoon session
we tried out a different floor which completely changed the
car behaviour in the direction that we wanted. It’s
not a new floor design but it has a different characteristic
that suits this circuit better. So we are pleased that the
switch paid off. We have good pace on the long runs as well.
Jarno put in a consistent long run and Ralf was also consistent
although that was masked on the timesheets by traffic. We
made it through our programme without any issues and the tyres
behaved much as expected, with not a particularly large difference
between them. So we are in good shape and given this form
it is just a pity that we have a wet forecast for Sunday.”
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