Japanese Grand Prix – Free Practice Round-Up
MOUNTAIN CONFIDENCE
Panasonic Toyota Racing got a positive first proper taste
of the revamped Fuji Speedway when practice for the Japanese
Grand Prix began today. The circuit, in the shadow of the
imposing Mount Fuji, held its first Formula 1 session since
1977 on a bright day, with the air temperature at 25°C.
A relatively clear morning meant the peak of Mount Fuji was
visible as Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli began work evaluating
set-ups and gathering tyre data. The first session went smoothly
and the team performed vital work acclimatising to the demands
of the new track. Both drivers completed even more laps in
the second session as they fine-tuned set-up and improved
the balance of the car, with Ralf ending the day having completed
68 laps and Jarno 67. The team will now work on extracting
the most from the car tomorrow as Ralf and Jarno fight for
a strong result on home ground.
Jarno Trulli (Car 12, Chassis TF107/04)
First Session 8th 32 laps completed Lap Time: 1m 20.483s
(+1.364s)
Second Session 4th 35 laps completed Lap Time: 1m 19.711s
(+0.977s)
“Today was a positive start to the weekend. We put
a lot of effort into our set-up programme, as well as looking
at the tyres. It was a smooth day but we still need to do
a bit of work on the car balance and, of course, we will be
pushing hard to get even more speed from the car. The circuit
did not have much grip today which was as expected but it
is in a good condition and the facilities are great - everything
looks good here. We are here in Japan for our home Grand Prix
so we are working hard to have a good weekend. We are very
motivated this weekend and I really hope we can get the best
out of the car. I am confident about our chances and tomorrow
I expect again to be fighting in the top 10 in qualifying.”
Ralf Schumacher (Car 11, Chassis TF107/05)
First Session 15th 28 laps completed Lap Time: 1m 20.828s
(+1.709s)
Second Session 9th 40 laps completed Lap Time: 1m 19.969s
(+1.235s)
“The afternoon session went well after a bit of a problem
with oversteer in the morning. The track conditions were tricky
because of the low grip but that did gradually improve during
the afternoon and the situation was the same for everybody.
I must say I am impressed by the circuit here at Fuji Speedway.
As a track it is nice and drivable, with an unusual last section.
It is a challenge to find the best compromise for the high
speeds we need on the start-finish straight, and the grip
we need on the infield section. The facilities are obviously
very good as well and I particularly enjoy racing in Japan
after I spent a season racing Formula Nippon here. I am focused
on getting a positive result this weekend and confident we
have the opportunity to do that.”
Dieter Gass – Chief Engineer Race and Test
“Fuji Speedway is a new track to Formula 1 and we are
very pleased to be here, with such fantastic facilities. In
terms of the circuit itself, what we found today was pretty
much as expected from our simulations. It took a while to
rubber in and it was evolving throughout the sessions which
made set-up work a little trickier. In general it was a good
day for us, we didn’t have any issues on the car and
we ran smoothly through our programme. Both drivers suffered
from oversteer in the morning but we worked hard to get to
grips with it and the rubbering in of the track also helped.
It is normal on a new circuit to do a bit more running on
the Friday and that’s what we did, trying a few more
things on the car to make it handle as we want. That all went
smoothly and the team worked hard to complete the full set-up
programme. I think we are in quite a good position at the
moment but we will have to look at the data to work out exactly
where we are because it seems people have been changing their
fuel loads more than usual for a Friday.”
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