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 deja 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:
"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:
"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."
Jarno Trulli
Chassis: Chassis TF107/04
Race Classification: 13th (+1 lap)
Ralf Schumacher
Chassis: TF107/05
Race Classification: DNF
-credit: toyota
