New parts fresh from the factory; high spirits and cold determination

The Catalunya Circuit in Spain is somewhat short at 4.655 km per lap. This race is a particularly interesting indicator for the rest of the season, since every team develops new parts to introduce here. Last year, both cars completed the entire race, with Jarno finishing P8 and Timo finishing P14.

More than four weeks have passed since the first race of the season-the Australian GP. This weekend we arrived at the Spanish GP-the first race of the European Round and the so-called “Second Season Opener.” Being much closer to our factory in Germany, we were fashioning new parts up to the last minute, bringing them to the circuit just prior to the start of the race weekend. We came away from the Bahrain GP disappointed, but we proved that our car was capable of bringing home a win. One report during our meetings after the Bahrain GP indicated that, having looked at the data, we could have won the race if only we had selected a different strategy. Of course, we can’t go back and change the past. So, we came to Barcelona with a renewed determination, treating the Spanish GP as a new start to the season.

Focused on testing new aero parts, rather than on time sheet position

The front wing was one area designed with new parts. Looking from above, you can see a larger overall surface area. Since in-season testing is prohibited this year, new parts have to be tested during free practice sessions during the GP weekend.

We came to the Spanish GP planning to incorporate a quite a number of new parts. We made some easily visible changes to our front wing, as well as bringing two new rear wing specifications (although the changes here may be less visible). We also brought a new engine cowl. With in-season testing prohibited this year, the actual grand prix is the only venue where we can test whether parts work on the circuit as well as they do in the wind tunnel. Given these circumstances, we set aside Friday morning free practice for parts comparison testing, using one set of each type of tire.
During Friday’s second free practice, we conducted long runs on both types of tires, testing setups using aero packages configured to reflect data from Friday morning. We also spent time testing tire performance. Our position on the time sheets showed us somewhat slower than the other teams, but we were satisfied that we were able to collect very meaningful data going into Saturday and Sunday. We fully believed that if we took care of our job in finishing our program, we would see the results of our work in qualifying.

Postponing the adoption of new parts leads to a struggle with low downforce during qualifying

Despite a setup not optimally suited to the circuit, both team drivers were able to qualify in the top 10. The circuit lends itself to several different strategies. The team planned to move Jarno up in on-track position by going with a heavier fuel load.

While I can’t say that qualifying went particularly well for us, it wasn’t necessarily a disaster, either, considering race strategy and our position on the starting grid.
After finishing our program during Saturday morning’s free practice, we decided that our new aero package wasn’t at the stage where it was ready for racing. So, we changed back to our former aero package. In my opinion, this was the reason we didn’t qualify as strongly as we did at the Bahrain GP. The result of this decision was that we had a weaker downforce level in qualifying than we had been looking forward to. We were quick through Sector 1, but we were at a disadvantage through Sectors 2 and 3, where downforce determines speed.
During Q1 (the first qualifying period), we were worried when team driver Jarno Trulli was caught in traffic. Fortunately, he was able to work his way through, and successfully move on to Q2. Given the heavy traffic in this weekend’s qualifying, as well as the fact that the softer tire compound had better staying power, our strategy of putting our cars on the course with the right amount of fuel for a two- or three-lap continuous attack turned out to be a winner. Team driver Timo Glock scored P3 during the second qualifying session. Considering fuel load during Q3, Timo and the team were looking to qualify a bit stronger than we did. Timo said, “During the final qualifying period, we had a heavier fuel load for my attack runs, and the car became quite tricky to handle.” The behavior of the car was most likely due to the effects of having less downforce than we originally anticipated.

Timo loses power due to oil system troubles; our results were significantly impacted by the first few seconds of the race

Neither car got off to the best of starts. Accidents and other bad luck combined to produce a wholly unsatisfying result. Timo commented that the competitive gap among the teams was narrowing.

Our race result this weekend was almost entirely determined by the first few seconds off the starting grid. Both cars were slow off the start, but for different reasons. Jarno’s reaction time was fine. It was our torque settings-tailored to prevent wheel spin-that backfired on us. Without enough torque to overcome the grip of the tires on the track, Jarno’s car took more time to get off. Rosberg (Williams) went off the course in the first turn. When he came back on in Turn 2, he threatened to sideswipe Jarno, who reacted to avoid contact. Jarno’s rear tires hit the gravel, causing him to spin out. Given Jarno’s fuel load at the start of the race, we definitely had high hopes for a podium finish, which made the incident all the more frustrating for everyone.
Meanwhile, Timo’s car belched smoke from the exhaust immediately off the start. It looks like oil mixed into the combustion chamber for some reason, causing a power low on the starting grid. We saw the same symptoms with Jarno’s car in Bahrain, and we addressed the issue immediately thereafter. For this reason, we think Timo’s trouble might have been caused by something else. In any event, the start is a big part of the race, and you can be sure that we’ll take a careful look into this issue.
Despite poor luck on several fronts, we knew that our car did not have enough speed on its own to win a race this time. We will be making some updates leading into Monaco as we look to return to the podium. Everyone here at Panasonic Toyota Racing thanks you for your continued support.