Japanese Grand Prix – Race Round-Up
DÉJÀ FU
Panasonic Toyota Racing endured a home race to forget with
Jarno Trulli classified 13th while Ralf Schumacher did not
finish. It was a case of déjà vu at Fuji Speedway
with rain making for extremely difficult conditions, just
like the first World Championship Japanese Grand Prix at the
track in 1976. On a very wet track, Jarno – wearing
a specially designed helmet for this race as part of a Panasonic
competition - lined up 13th with Ralf two places further back.
With both drivers using extreme wet Bridgestone Potenza tyres,
the race ran behind the safety car until lap 19. Jarno had
already made his first pit stop for more fuel, on lap 18,
while Ralf’s first stop came on lap 28 and he also continued
on extreme wets. The safety car returned on lap 43 following
an accident and, as racing resumed five laps later, Ralf made
his final planned stop. However, an electronic problem caused
by water in the cockpit forced a stop for repairs on lap 53.
Quick work from the crew saw Ralf return to the track after
losing several laps but a slow puncture ended his race two
laps from the chequered flag. The team now heads to the Chinese
Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit for the penultimate
race of the season.
Jarno Trulli (Car 12, Chassis TF107/04)
Race Classification: 13th (+1 lap)
Qualifying Classification: 14th Lap Time: 1m 26.253s (+1.500s
in Q2) Grid: 13th
“It was a very difficult race from the beginning. Even
behind the safety car the conditions were really bad –
there was a lot of spray and it was hard to see anything on
the straight. Behind the first safety car unfortunately I
made a mistake in the hairpin. While I was warming up the
tyres I shifted down and this caused a shift down of one gear
too much and the car spun. Because of that I lost several
positions, then when the safety car came in the race was very
wet and visibility was really, really poor. They were difficult
conditions and I was suffering with lots of aquaplaning and
poor grip. I think it was a tough afternoon for everyone out
there and obviously I am disappointed with this result.”
Ralf Schumacher (Car 11, Chassis TF107/05)
Race Classification: DNF
Qualifying Classification: 16th Lap Time: No time in Q2 Grid:
15th
“We’ve had a tough time all weekend and today
that continued. Unfortunately my radio stopped working midway
through the race but then with all the rain, water got into
our electrics and that forced me to pit again. My crew fixed
the problem
but we had a puncture so that was that. It wasn’t
a very enjoyable race because of the rain, which made the
track really slippery and meant there was pretty much zero
visibility when we were running under safety car at the start.
It was a real challenge to drive with all the spray but the
conditions improved a bit as the race went on. There’s
not much more to say about this weekend – I just hope
we can get a better result next week in China.”
Tadashi Yamashina – Team Principal
“Today it was very difficult for us. Towards the end
of the race, on Ralf’s car, the main electronics box
failed because of water in the cockpit but the team did well
to fix the problem so Ralf could continue and race in front
of our Japanese fans. Then we found the new set of tyres had
a slow puncture, we think this was because of debris. For
Jarno, we still have to analyse what happened because obviously
the car wasn’t competitive. We need to focus our energy
on improving mechanical grip and aerodynamics. We must push
very hard to make improvements. Our car was not competitive
in these conditions but now we will do our best for the Chinese
Grand Prix. I would like to say congratulations to Fuji Speedway
for hosting this race for the first time in 30 years. The
facilities here are excellent and the race was well organised.
It is a shame we could not get the result we wanted in this
race.”
|
