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Panasonic Toyota Racing
Turkish Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
Jarno Trulli (Car 11, Chassis TF108-05)
Summary: Ran trouble-free to 7th place on a day slightly disrupted by damp track
P1 11th Best Lap Time: 1m 29.329s (+2.006s) Laps: 24
P2 7th Best Lap Time: 1m 28.619s (+1.076s) Laps: 29
"We have come to Turkey at a different time of year so temperatures are unlike what we have faced in the past. But that was a good day despite the mixed track conditions - dusty in the morning then rain in the afternoon. We made it through our programme of tyre and set-up work and we didn't have any problems. The car seems okay so far but there is still work to do in order to improve the handling. Now we have to work hard over the next two days to maintain our strong start to the season with a successful race."
Timo Glock (Car 12, Chassis TF108-06)
Summary: Late off-track excursion but no other problems en route to 12th
P1 10th Best Lap Time: 1m 29.103s (+1.780s) Laps: 19
P2 12th Best Lap Time: 1m 28.849s (+1.306s) Laps: 26
"Both practice sessions went pretty well and the car felt good throughout the day. I also had a strong long run with competitive lap times. Graining and understeer were challenges today. On a late run I went off the track and couldn't stop the car from hitting the kerb and damaging the front wing. It was my mistake and I missed the last five minutes but it was nevertheless a good first day. I've had some successful races here in GP2 but it's difficult to overtake so qualifying is important this weekend. Our target has to be to get into the top ten tomorrow, as I did in the first two races this year."
Dieter Gass, Chief Engineer Race and Test "Even though the weather was changeable we still made it through our programme and we collected the information that we wanted. So it was a positive day and we are in slightly better shape than we were in Barcelona. The cold weather doesn't seem to have changed too much about the circuit. In the morning the track was cleaned at the last minute and there were damp spots but it was not a problem for us. We planned to go out late anyway because we know that the circuit's dirty here at the start. That also means the tyres are difficult to evaluate because the track evolves through the sessions. So we still have to investigate that and make our decision for tomorrow. Now I hope we can build on today and come back to the performance level we showed at the beginning of the season."
Panasonic Toyota Racing, featuring... Innovation Fixation Formula 1 is the sport that never sleeps and at Panasonic Toyota Racing's headquarters in Cologne, Germany, dedicated technical experts work around the clock in a constant search for extra performance. No stone is left unturned but where does a team find such gains?
With engine development frozen and a standard ECU, constant improvement in terms of engine performance is difficult - but not impossible. Senior General Manager Engine Luca Marmorini says: "Even given the regulations we work hard so our engine performance improves during the season - for example in terms of fuel efficiency."
Bigger gains can be made with aerodynamics. The Spanish Grand Prix package featured major changes that will be further optimised with more new parts here in Turkey. Team Manager Richard Cregan explains: "If you're not bringing something new to every race of the season you're just going to be moving backwards. But what you're trying to achieve is to come up with something revolutionary not purely an evolution of something that exists."
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