Rd.12 Germany Grand Prix 2002
27/07/2002
German Grand Prix - Qualifying
After two promising free practice sessions this morning Panasonic Toyota Racing were affected by changing track conditions in qualifying at Hockenheim. Allan McNish will start from 17th place on the grid for tomorrow's German Grand Prix with team-mate Mika Salo directly behind in 19th.
| Position: | 17th 1m16.594s 12/12 laps completed |
| Chassis: | TF102/08 |
"We didn't modify the car very much from this morning's session but we lost consistency especially at the end of the lap. That meant that although I gained time in the first two sectors it was difficult to maintain that level through to the end. The track conditions were different compared to the practice sessions and we simply could not adapt the car accordingly. I'm slightly disappointed with the starting position but the midfield was very close."
Mika Salo - Car No. 24
| Position: | 19th 1m16.685s 11/12 laps completed |
| Chassis: | TF102/07 |
"That was the most disappointing qualifying session this season. We had a really well-balanced and well-handling car this morning but the track conditions changed so much over the lunch break we lost balance in the car. We quite simply did not have enough grip and we suffered from understeer. We tried to fix the problem in the session but we couldn't manage in time."
Norbert Kreyer - General Manager Engine Department
"We have had no engine difficulties so far this weekend. We know the cause of our Magny-Cours problem was the same on both engines but we are confident that we will not have this problem again. After a difficult qualifying and a string of non-finishes our aim for tomorrow's race must simply be to complete full distance."
| Weather: | Cloudy with sunny spells |
| Temperatures: | Air - Min 24°C Max 26°C Track - Min 27°C Max 28°C Average humidity 50% |
| T-car: | TF102/06 set up for Allan McNish |
Review
Friday free practice saw Panasonic Toyota Racing's debut in Hockenheim. Allan and Mika worked on different programmes concentrating on car set-up and were 9th and 18th respectively on the timesheets.
