Both of the North American circuits—the one here in Montreal and our next stop in Indianapolis—are considered to be high-speed circuits. Relatively speaking, these circuits are suited to the Panasonic Toyota Racing team. You can be sure we will be giving our all to get back to the podium at both of these races.

The first thing I did after arriving at the Montreal circuit Thursday morning was to ask the engineers about the course. My concern was that the track had been completely repaved prior to this race. Michelin reported that the course was as it has always been—smooth, with many fine grooves. But this was going to be the first time cars were on this course since being repaved, so the as-yet unresolved question was whether tire selected based on last year’s data would match the actual conditions.

• Unveiling a Specialized Aero Package for the Canadian GP
Our aerodynamic package this time is a medium downforce spec, designed specifically for the Canadian GP. We made a lot of changes to both the front and back wing. These changes are designed to reduce drag, and move the car into a profile having better aerodynamic efficiency. We removed all of the parts that had been attached to the cars in prior races, and we have of course made revisions to the body parts as well.

The engine will be the same spec that we introduced last race in Germany. This will be the second race on Jarno’s engine, while it will be the first time for Ralf to be using the new specification. The Montreal course is regarded as the toughest course on brakes out of all of the 19 races in the season. Accordingly, we have come with the strongest brake spec we can put together. We based the brake spec on what we had at Bahrain, which we consider to be the second toughest circuit on brakes, and then we added an additional factor in preparing for Montreal.

At any rate, the most important strategic factor in my book is the track—how it will perform after a layer of rubber has built up. Now, tires have to be set up to last through to the end, but it really looks like track conditions will change dramatically over the course of three days, so we will have to be careful in our approach. On top of that, the weather reports call for continued thunderstorms. If it rains, there’s a good chance that the rubber grip could completely give way at times. We have to make the right tire choice, paying attention to, and correctly predicting, changes in track conditions.

• Zonta Clocks the Second Fastest Time. A Friday Harvest of Data
The most important mission Friday was to get a feel of how the new track actually performed. Finally getting out, we found that the conditions were not that different than in years past, which was a great relief. We thought going in that the road grip would be pretty low, but that wasn’t the case. Basically, it was typical first-day conditions in Canada.

Ricardo was able to thoroughly evaluate two types of tires, and he was also able to get in a long run. Our regular drivers, Jarno and Ralf, were able to find their basic setups, and do some checking of tires. Ricardo built up quite a number of laps, running well without any setup issues. This meant we were able to collect a good amount of data. Ralf reported back that his car had no balance problems, but Jarno complained of somewhat poor mechanical grip. This, however, is an issue we should easily be able to deal with by Saturday.

Montreal is a circuit where it’s important to be able to maintain as much traction as possible coming out of the corners. Knowing this, we took great care in analyzing the road surface data and tire data we collected Friday. Based on Ricardo’s data, I think I can say with confidence that we will be very competitive over the weekend. All that is left to do is make some adjustments to dial the cars into the drivers’ preferences, and then I think we’ll continue to compete at a high level.

Keizo Takahashi, keeping watch on the team's movements from the pit wall booth.

• Overcoming Trouble; Finding the Right Setup
During laps on Friday, the drivers reported the course had poor grip—no traction. We worked toward making improvement in traction during Saturday’s practice. The track hadn’t improved much prior to Practice Session 3, so we didn’t take many laps. Still, we were able to confirm that our changes resulted in good balance for the cars.

At the end of Practice Session 3, Jarno had trouble with the car falling out of 6th gear into neutral. After the end of the session, we changed out the gearbox and electrical system, hoping to have the car ready for Practice Session 4. Unfortunately, during the process we discovered some problems with the sensors, so we spent quite a bit of time sorting that all out. As a result, we weren’t able to get many laps in for Jarno during Practice Session 4. Meanwhile, Ralf was able to test downforce levels, so we took Ralf’s data and made the same changes to Jarno’s car. By the end of practice, we were able to dial in the balance for both machines.

• We Expect to Move up in Position as the Race Progresses
Jarno and Ralf qualified 9th and 10th, respectively. That’s not too bad, but not that good, either. Not satisfying, but I won’t complain too loudly. We can’t know for sure until the race starts, but we’re guessing there’s at least four cars in front of us that are much lighter in fuel than we are. And there’s a good chance it will rain, so it’s anyone’s guess as to what factors may be key in affecting the outcome of tomorrow’s race. For our part, I think we took everything into consideration in our approach to qualifying, which has put is in the position we’re in now after qualifying, but will be to our advantage during the race.

Ralf was third in order to take his time attack, and the road conditions were not very good at that point. Fortunately, Ralf is strong on this course, so he was still able to record a good time. Meanwhile, Jarno was 13th in line for his flying lap, so we had some elevated expectations for his results. Unfortunately, his tires didn’t come up to temperature, and the resulting lack of grip kept him from getting the time we expected. This issue with the tires has been ongoing for this entire season. This time, we increased the temperature of the tire warmer, added extra air pressure, and pushed hard on the out lap—basically we did everything we could, but the tires still didn’t build heat fast enough. Whatever the reason, I can say that there’s no issue with how Jarno was driving.

I had hoped we could start higher in position, but I think we’ll have gained a few spots after the first pit stop of the race. Look forward to seeing if I’m right.

Keep up the fantastic support at the circuit or from your living rooms. I’ll see you back here at the official Panasonic Toyota Racing website with a post-race “Keizo Takahashi Report.” Until then…