22.06.2008

IN MEMORY

There was a sombre tone to the Panasonic Toyota Racing team throughout the French Grand Prix weekend following the death of Ove Andersson.

The Swede, who was the team’s first Team Principal as well as the founding father of Toyota’s European motorsport programme, passed away on 11 June in South Africa and he was remembered in Magny–Cours.

A minute’s silence was held during the team meeting on Thursday while all team members wore black arm bands to honour Ove’s memory. The TF108s featured a black band around the monocoque and the garage interior also featured black stripes.

A book of condolences in the motorhome ensured many members of the Formula 1 community, including fellow team principals, former drivers and several media colleagues, paid their respects.

The entries provided a fitting memory to Ove, with his former colleagues reminiscing about his passion for motorsport and revealing the high degree of respect he was held in throughout motorsport.

News From Our Rivals

Felipe Massa won the French Grand Prix from Ferrari team–mate Kimi Raikkonen, taking the World Championship lead in the process.

He has 48 points while BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica has 46 after finishing in fifth place. Raikkonen, who lost the lead due to a problem with his exhaust during the race, has 43 points.

Ferrari now leads the Constructors’ Championship with 91 points to BMW Sauber’s 74. McLaren–Mercedes is third with 58 after Heikki Kovalainen took fourth and Lewis Hamilton 10th.

Panasonic Toyota Racing has closed the gap on fourth–placed Red Bull to just a point following Jarno’s third place. The team now has 23 points while Red Bull has 24 after Mark Webber picked up sixth place.

Elsewhere, Nelson Piquet Jr finished seventh, one place ahead of team–mate Fernando Alonso.

Race Report

Panasonic Toyota Racing returned to the podium in the French Grand Prix thanks to a fantastic drive from Jarno Trulli, who battled throughout the race to take a well–deserved third place.

Jarno’s brilliant lap in qualifying gave him a great chance of points from fourth on the grid and he had the podium in his sights after beating Fernando Alonso to the first corner, allowing him to complete the first lap in third.

But it was not easy, with Alonso piling on the pressure. However Jarno fought hard and kept his rival at bay before building a small gap.

By that time Timo had moved up to sixth place after a lightening fast start from eighth on the grid and he too was in the thick of a close battle.

Jarno’s first pit stop came on lap 20 and he continued on the prime Bridgestone Potenza tyres, as did Timo when he pitted a lap later.

Timo suffered a graining problem on his tyres and lost places at the first round of pit stops, but he was still fighting for the points and was running seventh when he made his final pit stop for option tyres.

Jarno followed the same strategy and he was pushing hard for a podium. He dropped to fourth due to his stop but Heikki Kovalainen still had a pit stop to make and when he did, the fast pit work and Jarno’s fast laps around his stop allowed the number 11 car to retake third spot.

That set up a classic fight over the final laps as Kovalainen pushed Jarno hard for the remaining podium place. On the penultimate lap Kovalainen pulled alongside, but Jarno held firm and kept position for the remaining kilometres.

He crossed the line in front of an ecstatic team and mounted the podium, making a poignant tribute to the late Team Principal Ove Andersson as he accepted the trophy for third place.

“What a great result and a great weekend by the whole team,” Jarno said. “We were really pushing hard because we wanted to dedicate this result to Ove Andersson, who has done so much for Toyota Motorsport.”

“That was a great race, hard and tough. We had a good pace, even if we had to battle with some cars that were quicker than us. I had to fight but that is what people should expect both from myself and from Toyota.”

Timo struggled with tyre issues and finished 11th. He said: “That was a difficult day for me. I made a good start, the car felt good for the first stint and I was able to push hard. But after the pit stop I struggled to maintain the same pace because I had some tyre graining and I then had major understeer.”

“Still it’s great for Jarno to take third place and the podium, a perfect result for him and the team. We have clearly made progress since the last test and our pace means I am determined to come away with better results in the coming races.”

Chairman and Team Principal Tadashi Yamashina watched the race from Japan due to a Toyota Motor Corporation stockholders meeting, meaning he missed the team’s best result since Australia 2006.

He sent his congratulations and President John Howett summed up the joy amongst the team: “This is a fantastic day for everyone involved in Toyota Motorsport. It was our first podium for a long time so we dedicate it to Ove Andersson, who did so much for the team and will be greatly missed.”

“Congratulations to everyone involved both at the factory and in the race and test teams who have worked hard to improve the car.”