03.08.2008


Behind the scenes

After his high speed accident in the German Grand Prix, Timo Glock had no after effects and tested successfully at Jerez before coming to Hungary, where it was a formality for him to be passed fit to drive by FIA medical staff on Friday morning.

Timo said: "I think the hardest thing was all the coverage and all the same questions after the accident. At first I thought I might have made a mistake running a bit wide on the kerb but then it was explained to me that there had been a mechanical problem. The food poisoning I had at the test was actually worse, but I want to make headlines for strong performances rather than crashes, so Hungary was much better!"

Senior General Manager Chassis, Pascal Vasselon added: “Timo’s performance in Hockenheim before the accident was already very strong and he did a great job to come to Hungary and line up fifth, his best qualifying performance so far. He was already looking strong – even before the race!”

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Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Heikki Kovalainen scored his first Grand Prix win when he took the lead with three laps to go. Hungary saw the first all-McLaren Mercedes front row since Monza last year but in the race the silver cars had to give best to Felipe Massa’s Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton chased hard but had to be content with second until a left front puncture in the second stint, which relegated him to fifth place.

There was heartbreak for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Massa, who qualified third but made a great start to beat both McLarens into Turn 1. The Brazilian opened up a small margin over Lewis Hamilton and looked to have the race firmly under control after Hamilton’s tyre problem. But, just three laps from the chequered flag, Massa suffered an engine failure. World Champion Kimi Raikkonen did not match Massa’s pace but won a race-long battle with Fernando Alonso’s Renault for the final place on the podium.

Like Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Panasonic Toyota Racing, the ING Renault F1 Team scored points with both cars in Hungary. Alonso qualified seventh and finished fourth, while Nelson Piquet followed up his surprise second place in Germany with another strong run to sixth place, pitting out just in front of Jarno Trulli’s TF108 after his final stop and robustly resisting Jarno’s challenge.

The Hungarian result means that Lewis Hamilton now leads the drivers’ championship with 67 points to Kimi Raikkonen’s 57. Felipe Massa is third, with 54, then comes Robert Kubica (49), Nick Heidfeld (41), Heikki Kovalainen (38), Jarno (22), Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber (18) and Timo and Piquet (13). In the constructors’ chase, Ferrari has 111 points, McLaren, 100, BMW Sauber, 90; Panasonic Toyota Racing, 35, and Renault, 31.

Race Report

Timo Glock matched Panasonic Toyota Racing’s best ever F1 result when he finished a superb second in the Hungarian Grand Prix, round 11 of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

Timo was strong throughout the weekend and qualified a fine fifth, his best qualifying slot of the season by three positions. He then made a great start to beat Robert Kubica’s fourth-placed BMW Sauber into Turn 1 and was a strong factor all the way through.

Timo utilised a two-stop strategy, pitting on laps 20 and 47 of the 70 lap race and managed his result despite a lengthy first pit stop when there was a slight problem with the positioning of the fuel rig which cost three or four seconds. He was delighted with his first ever F1 podium, following on immediately from the heavy accident in his home Grand Prix at Hockenheim.

“It’s fantastic,” Timo said. “We have made progress with the starts and I got a very good one. The car then felt really good in the first two stints, as it had all the way through the weekend when we made very few changes. You could see from my Q2 time, when I was second, that we had great pace on the prime tyre. Unfortunately I didn’t get the tyre up to temperature as much as I would have liked in Q3 and I think it might have even been possible to qualify one or two places further up.

“In the final stint, on the option tyre, it was not so easy and I came under pressure from Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari. But I knew from last year’s GP2 race how tough it is to pass here, it’s even harder in F1 and I just concentrated on making no mistakes. I did not expect to finish on the podium and I’m delighted for myself and the whole team.”
 

Jarno Trulli made it two TF108s in the points when he finished the race in seventh place. Jarno started the race ninth on the grid, with a heavier fuel load, and passed Nelson Piquet’s Renault on the opening lap. He pitted on laps 23 and 53 but despite strong pace that yielded fifth fastest race lap, the pit stops and the traffic did not work in his favour and he had to be content with seventh place.

“I’m glad for Timo because he has had a very good weekend and fully deserves this result,” said Jarno. “This could have been better for me too, despite my problems in qualifying. I was quick today but I couldn’t push because I only had one lap that was clear of traffic in the whole afternoon. Still, I’m delighted that we are showing such strong form and I just hope we can carry on in good shape and with such good results.”

Senior General Manager Chassis, Pascal Vasselon said: “That was a superb performance from Timo and a thoroughly deserved podium. We proved at Magny Cours in June that we had made a step forward and then we had a race that was a bit of a lottery at Silverstone and some misfortune at Hockenheim. But I was always confident that we had also made progress with the car in high downforce configuration, and this race proved it. The team is as highly motivated as it has ever been and this is another tremendous boost – our second podium of the year. We now have the summer break before we try to build on this result and maintain our fourth place in the constructors championship, starting with the first Valencia Grand Prix on August 24.”