17.06.2007

SCOUT'S HONOUR!

Franck Montagny delighted the residents of the Lutherwood centre for neglected children when he paid a visit on the Thursday morning prior to the United States Grand Prix. Montagny talked to more than 50 children and took part in a Pinewood Derby race using specially prepared wooden cars on a purpose-build, sloping track.

Panasonic Toyota Racing entered two cars, built by factory mechanics and raced in team livery. Franck upheld team honour against the fastest of the children but we were narrowly beaten by the Indiana state champion's car constructed by boy scouts! Franck was happy to sign autographs and present prizes. He then joined the team's PR staff for a media dinner with Spanish, Brazilian and Portuguese media at The Oceanaire - a leading Indianapolis seafood restaurant, where he employed language skills learned as a resident of Barcelona.

Ralf, meanwhile, visited the Bridgestone charity golf event at the Brickyard Crossing. He didn't take part in the competition but he did enjoy cracking a few balls!

NEWS FROM OUR RIVALS

With Robert Kubica rested for the Indianapolis race after his Montreal accident, BMW Sauber gave 19-year-old Sebastian Vettel his Formula 1 debut. The 19-year-old German had a fraught time at Turn 1 of his first Grand Prix, ending up on the grass, but recovered to finish eighth. In the process he became the youngest driver to score points in a Grand Prix.

With the championship-leading teams fighting out the top four places again, it was left to Renault's Heikki Kovalainen to turn in his most impressive F1 performance to date en route to fifth place. Team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella spun down to 19th place from 8th on the second lap and finished one place out of the points.

Nico Rosberg's cruel run of luck continued when, running a strong sixth on a one-stop strategy for Williams, he suffered an oil leak with just four laps to go and was ultimately classified 16th.

RACE REPORT

Jarno Trulli scored Panasonic Toyota Racing's best result of the season when he finished sixth in the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis, round seven of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

The Italian came to the Brickyard after visiting the injured Robert Kubica at hospital in Montreal following the pair's collision in the previous weekend's Canadian Grand Prix.

"I was delighted that Robert was okay and was released from hospital even though doctors at Indianapolis thought that the sensible approach was for him to miss the Indy race in case he had another impact so soon afterwards," Trulli said.

Jarno then stylishly rode into Indianapolis on a Harley Davidson, before turning in an equally polished performance on the track. He qualified eighth and then drove a great race, passing Mark Webber with a fine move and hanging on to score three points.

"It was a strong fighting performance by both myself and the team," Jarno said. "I did not think that we could finish in the top six today but I pushed to the maximum the whole race and the team did a perfect job with not a single mistake. It feels almost like a victory for us. When I crossed the line I had to ask them on the radio to confirm that it was sixth place. I was really pleased. We have had our fair share of problems in recent races but hopefully this will put us on the right road to go forward and we can continue to battle for points."

Ralf Schumacher did not enjoy the same kind of fortune. His qualifying performance was strong - setting the seventh fastest time in Q1 before missing out by a fraction of a second on reaching Q3. Starting 12th the team were free to choose the best possible strategy and he was looking ahead to a competitive afternoon but unfortunately fell victim to a first corner accident.

"The first corner at Indianapolis is always busy," Ralf explained, "and I locked up my tyres going in. David Coulthard was going around the outside and unfortunately we made contact. It was a racing incident - one of those things. We were stronger here and after the more unique circuits at Monaco and Indy, we now enter a phase on more traditional layouts. I will be testing at Silverstone next week in preparation for the French and British Grands Prix, which follow in quick succession."

The US Grand Prix provided back-to-back wins and a 10 point championship lead for McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who took pole position and narrowly beat team mate Fernando Alonso. Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen finished third and fourth, while Heikki Kovalainen scored his second successive finish in the top five.

In the Constructors' Championship Panasonic Toyota Racing's three points maintains the team's sixth place but closes the gap on Williams to just four points. McLaren leads Ferrari by 106 points to 71 with BMW Sauber in third place on 39.