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Panasonic Toyota Racing
Canadian Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
Jarno Trulli (Car 11, Chassis TF108-05)
Summary: A full day of running in difficult, changeable track conditions
P1 14th Best Lap Time: 1m 19.568s (+2.015s) Laps: 31
P2 10th Best Lap Time: 1m 17.068s (+1.316s) Laps: 46
"Our day of testing at Paul Ricard in preparation for this race was washed out so we had a lot to learn from today's practice sessions. This was another difficult day because the track was green and there was very low grip. That meant I was fighting a lot to control the car and to get the most out of the tyres. In general we have quite a lot of work to do to improve the balance before qualifying. It's hard to say how we can get on this weekend. The role of the tyres will be important because we had graining last year which had a big impact on the performance. We've had some difficult races lately so we could do with a return to form here."
Timo Glock (Car 12, Chassis TF108-06)
Summary: Busy day of work ended prematurely after contact with the wall in the second session
P1 13th Best Lap Time: 1m 19.346s (+1.793s) Laps: 28
P2 15th Best Lap Time: 1m 17.549s (+1.797s) Laps: 31
"The first practice session went okay and we were able to carry out useful work in the changing conditions. But in the second practice I just could not find a balance and the car was really difficult to drive. I put a wheel into the wall with half an hour to go and that was it for the day. Still, my races here in Montreal have gone well for me so far. I scored points here on my F1 debut in 2004 and I came second here in Champ Cars. So I have good memories from this track and I remain hopeful we can come away from this weekend with a strong performance."
Dieter Gass, Chief Engineer Race and Test "That was not an easy Friday practice for us. There was very little grip out there today and the rain obviously didn't help at the very beginning. It took quite some time to get grip on the track and we saw a lot of cars spinning, ours included. Still, we made some good progress with our programme. It's a pity that Timo had to stop when he slightly touched the wall. But we've collected some very good information from both drivers - especially Jarno, who completed the session - on set-up and tyres. There are still some balance issues to be sorted out overnight but overall it was not too bad."
Panasonic Toyota Racing, featuring... Reality Check: Getting Ahead with Simulation Today may have been the first time the TF108 has run on with the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in real life, but not in the virtual world of simulation at Panasonic Toyota Racing. Even before arriving in Canada the engineers already had a bank of information about the car's behaviour at the track from an array of sophisticated simulation techniques including the wind tunnel, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and engine test benches.
For this track, riding the kerbs is key and the team has simulated the car's behaviour on a seven-post rig specifically set up to replicate the demands of the Montreal track. A full-sized TF108 is placed on a hydraulically-powered rig, using data from previous seasons to shake and shudder the car exactly as if it was driving over the bumps and kerbs of the Ile Notre-Dame. This gives engineers an indication of what works with suspension and damper settings. Nonetheless, the set-up has to be finalised on track, as Senior General Manager Chassis Pascal Vasselon says: "Simulation faces natural limitations and it is essential to know them. It won't tell you everything but you can expect it to give direction."