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Panasonic Toyota Racing
Singapore Grand Prix - Race Round-Up
Constructors' Championship Points: 46 points (5th)
Drivers' Championship Points: Jarno Trulli 26pts (9th); Timo Glock 20pts (10th)
Timo Glock (Car 12, Chassis TF108-07)
Summary: Made up a place with a fighting opening lap and harried Sebastian Vettel before safety car was deployed. Pitted under safety car on lap 17 and passed Vettel when racing resumed. Ran second before final pit stop on lap 46, when he changed to option Bridgestone Potenza tyres, and capped a superb drive with his third top-four finish of the season.
Race Classification: 4th (+8.155s)
Qualifying Classification: 8th Lap Time: 1m 46.328s (+1.527s in Q3) Grid: 7th
"I am happy with the job I did; I made no mistakes and fourth is a good result. It was quite tough out there in these conditions and with such a bumpy track the car was not very comfortable to drive; I am sure I will feel the effects tomorrow. My goal at the beginning of the year was to score 20 points this season so I am very satisfied to achieve that with three races still to go. However, I am fighting for the team to help them finish fourth in the Constructors' Championship and we were a bit unlucky with that today, but congratulations to Fernando, who did a great job. Now we will go to Fuji and aim to recover the lost ground."
Jarno Trulli (Car 11, Chassis TF108-05)
Summary: Made up two places at the start and drove a defensive first stint on heavy fuel load before moving up the order when others pitted under the safety car. Made his only stop on lap 33 and switched to option tyres, running in the top six until a loss of hydraulic pressure ended his race early on lap 50.
Race Classification: DNF
Qualifying Classification: 11th Lap Time: 1m 45.038s (+1.024s in Q2) Grid: 11th
"The race was going pretty well, I was on a one-stop strategy and I made a good start. After the safety car, I was one of the quickest on the track and I led the race for several laps. But in the end a weekend which started pretty bad has finished even worse. I had a hydraulic problem when I would have finished in fifth; that would have been good points from a weekend which has been quite hard for me. I am exhausted because I am so disappointed. I have been fighting really hard and doing a good job but when that bad luck comes you can't do anything about it. I think I am owed a lot of good luck after that."
Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal: "Considering our practice and qualifying performances, when we found the car was not so well suited to the bumpy conditions, the team did a very good job. Our strategy proved to be very complimentary considering the expected safety car periods and we were looking good until Jarno's issue, which cost us a lot of points. Both drivers performed really well and pushed as hard as possible despite the difficult conditions. We are pleased with fourth place but we should have had both cars in the top six. We must analyse Jarno's hydraulic problem and find out why it happened. I have to say, some drivers' races were ruined by the safety car rules and we have had a lot of intense discussion on this matter, so I think it is time the situation was improved. Now of course we turn our attentions towards the Japanese Grand Prix and we will be pushing ourselves really hard to get a good result at Fuji Speedway."
What's Next?
The Japanese Grand Prix is next, with practice starting on Friday 10 October. Stay up to date with all the latest news from www.toyota-f1-world.com, where you will find Timo Glock's Singapore Grand Prix debrief on Tuesday. A VNR feature, and accompanying text, focusing on Panasonic Toyota Racing's Japanese team members, particularly third driver Kamui Kobayashi, will be released on Monday 6 October, along with a Japanese Grand Prix preview.