Arai Report - Rd.7 Turkish Grand Prix
Turkish Grand Prix - Arai Report
09.06.2009
Thank you, as always for your support over the weekend. Now that we have reached June, we have started the “second stint” of the 2009 F1 World Championship season. Last year, the Turkish Grand Prix was held in May. This year, the event was pushed back one month, to be held under the early summer sun. Without further ado, here is my report from the Turkish GP.
With testing completed, we head to the mid-/high-speed Turkish GP circuit fully prepared
The entire team came together to resolve the issues that hampered performance at the previous two low-speed circuits, conducting a whole raft of wind tunnel and straight-line testing for new aero parts. The new parts were used during the race, and the front wing also sported a new configuration.
The race in Monaco two weeks ago was a very frustrating GP for us. At the conclusion of the Monaco weekend, we went to the factory to check a variety of different components and aspects of our car. The results of our work indicated to us that our poor showing in Monaco qualifying wasn’t necessary the fault of the car itself. For one thing, we were balked by heavy traffic, and we believe that if we could have been free to perform as we normally do, we could have made it through to Q2 (second qualifying period) in Monaco.
Not being able to use the aero parts we prepared for the street circuit may have also had some impact on our ultimate performance. Prior to heading for the Turkish GP, we conducted two days of straight-line aero tests (only straight-line tests are allowed by the regulations), verifying the aero parts that we planned on introducing in Istanbul. The results of our tests were very encouraging, and we came to the Turkish GP with our eyes squarely on the podium.
Tire selection difficulties during day one; solid progress
While Jarno turned in his quickest qualifying lap time on hard tires, Timo’s best was on the soft tires. This result indicated how close the two tire compounds were in terms of performance. Faced with these unusual conditions, the team struggled with tire selection.
The tire compounds brought to Istanbul consisted of a soft spec and a hard spec tire. After the Malaysian GP and the Spanish GP, this marks the third race of the year with this particular combination of tires. Being familiar with the compounds, we didn’t anticipate any difficulties in tire usage and selection for the weekend. Unfortunately, once we were out on the circuit Friday morning, the results were vastly different than expected.
Normally, the soft tires provide high grip, but a lack of stability over long runs. The hard tires, on the other hand, are stable over long runs, and produce faster times as the number of laps builds. Short-run performance on the hard compound is usually slower by comparison. At Istanbul, however, we couldn’t find the right level of grip from the soft tires, and the hard tires actually produced quicker times on short runs.
While we had some challenges with tire usage, our car setup progressed rather smoothly. By the end of the day, we were confident that both cars would make a fight for Top 10 qualifying positions.
Despite difficulties, our tire selection was on target; Jarno fights back from Monaco disappointment to secure a Top 10 spot on the grid
Given the fact that the soft tire lacked grip, and that the track surface temperature reached 50℃, the team adopted a strategy to run fewer laps on the softer tire. With about 10 laps left in the race, each car came in to change to the soft tires, maintaining their ability to compete on the circuit.
As we expected given our first day, we had a much more difficult time with tire selection on Saturday than usual. In most cases, we would mainly use the soft tires that provide better grip for qualifying attack laps. During Saturday morning free practice, however, we had still not identified any significant performance differences between the two tire compounds. With minutes to go before the start of qualifying, we still found ourselves struggling to decide which tire compound we would rely on as our main set.
By the conclusion of Saturday morning practice, we noted that the soft tire was just slightly the quicker of the two. Jarno (Trulli) and Timo (Glock) came in on the time sheets at P2 and P3, respectively. But with the track conditions changing so rapidly, we finally made the decision to test out both compounds again during Q1 to see what would happen. The soft tires were a bit more difficult to drive than the hard compound, but they produced slightly faster lap times. We could tell that the other teams were seeing a similar result, based on their lap times. Accordingly, we decided to start Q2 on the hard tire to establish a solid time, and then switch both cars over to the soft tires for their second attack laps.
The other teams also chose the soft tire for their second attack laps, each improving on their times, which showed us that our decision was correct. Circumstances at the end of the back straight during his second time attack prevented Timo from moving on to Q3, but Jarno was able to make a return to his traditional spot among the Top 10 cars. Our qualifying performance cemented in our minds that we had made a full recovery from our struggles at the Monaco GP.
A strong performance to completely sweep away a slump; our first dual-points finish in three races
Jarno rose as high as P3 for a time, but cold tires prevented him from protecting his position. Jarno finished the race P4, thanks in part to effective pit strategy. Timo recorded the fifth-fastest lap time of the day, finishing the race in the points, and proving that both Panasonic Toyota Racing cars have returned to their proper pace.
Both drivers were able to make a good start off the grid on Sunday. Jarno moved up one position to P3 immediately after the start, but cold tires put him off the course, allowing Mark Webber (Red Bull) to regain his spot and deny Jarno a podium appearance. A comparison of fastest laps showed that Jarno and Webber were almost identical. If we could have held on, then I think we could have secured a spot on the podium. As it is, a P4 finish means a lot to a team that scored a cumulative zero points in the last two races. Having lost a position to Nico Rosberg (Williams) after the first pit stop, we were able to get Jarno back out in front after the second stop. In the end, our result was due not only to Jarno’s wonderful driving, but also to the engineers for their on-target strategy, and to the mechanics who worked so quickly during the pit stops.
Starting from P13, Timo got off the grid in good fashion, but was forced off his line in the confusion of the first corner, pushing him back one position. Even so, Timo continued to drive a determined race, flying by other cars and moving up into the points. Timo’s fastest lap was the fifth fastest of the day, proving to us that he could have finished much higher except for the unfortunate circumstances during qualifying.
In addition to a dual-points showing at the Turkish GP, another major point of progress was being able to prove the performance of our aero parts in actual racing conditions. There is still a gap between us and the winning teams, but we have not lost our direction in our development efforts. Panasonic Toyota Racing will be looking to narrow the gap at the British GP, and we ask all of our fans for their continued support.
Noritoshi Arai at the Istanbul Park. Despite difficulty in tire selection, the team found the answer in qualifying, confirming their return as a top contender. Strong performances during the race translated into a dual-points finish, and momentum for even better results at the British GP.
