• Monza Joint Testing: We need more speed
In advance of the Italian GP, we spent last week conducting joint testing at Monza, where we also worked out our new TF105 B spec. Actually, the B spec isn’t what you would call an evolutionary model for this year, but rather more of a test machine looking toward next. Even so, we were considering putting the car into the Italian GP depending on test results. Unfortunately, initial troubles with the hydraulics system only allowed us to complete 12 laps over three days of testing, so we abandoned any notion of bringing the car to the GP this weekend. We still plan on running the car as much as we can in future testing sessions. We also continue to test the V8 engine, carefully preparing for next year. Having said that, there are still five races left this year, including Italy, and we fully intend to continue development for this season all the way through to the end.

During our testing at Monza we uncovered an issue with the TF105. Our car has always demonstrated great downforce this year, but we have had a trade-off in increased drag. On a course like Monza, we haven’t been able to reach satisfactory top speeds. Until this year, Monza had been one of our better tracks, but our tests last week signaled what could be a tough race for us. We quickly ordered up some emergency wind tunnel testing to see if we could reduce drag on the car. Our front and rear wings are small, designed specifically for Monza, but we went over every part of the car in detail, searching for areas where we could improve our efficiency cutting through the air. Jarno will be racing on a fresh engine this time around, although the engine is the same spec we used for the Grand Prix in Turkey.

Our tire testing has also revealed some pretty significant trade-offs between the option and prime sets, so I think tire selection in Italy may give us some trouble, too. It will be hotter than last week, so one key will be to see how the heat affects performance. Among all of the circuits this year, Monza stands out as being particularly fast. Average speeds will be about 260km/ hour, with top speeds reach around 360km/ hour, so you can see how fast the circuit really is. Mechanically, Monza is very demanding on brakes, engines and tires. Perhaps more than any other circuit, lost time in the pits has a tremendous influence out on the track, so the course is strategically demanding as well.

• Friday: New parts do the trick; top speeds back to competitive levels

The team has brought some smaller-profile wings to help reduce drag at Monza. Also, the cars have not been outfitted with a roll hoop wing.

During the morning session, we used the same setup for the cars that we had used last week during testing. The track was very dirty during Practice 1, so rather than using our race cars, we had Zonta go out, mainly to perform tire evaluations. During the afternoon there was some oil on the track, but the track surface continued to improve, so we had all three cars out in an attempt to evaluate tires under different types of conditions. The cars were well balanced, and I think it turned out to be a very profitable day for us. We didn’t notice any blistering problems, and ran overall much better than we had during testing last week. It was about 3ºC hotter than last week, which might have had something to do with our improved performance. We have also seen the benefit of the aero parts we came up with for this weekend, gaining significantly improved top speed. But we’re still faced with the McLaren and Renault teams, who seem to once again be one step ahead of us speed-wise.

With a low downforce setup, we have to contend with unstable braking behavior, but we’ve made what changes we can to compensate mechanically. The drivers have complained a bit about the behavior of the car after going over the chicane curbs, but this is a problem to be addressed on Saturday. Today’s results haven’t really given us too much to go on one way or another, but from appearances, I get the feeling we’ll be very competitive.

• Saturday: Jarno drives a perfect qualifying lap

	Trulli qualified P6 (actually P5 on the grid) after a perfect attack run. Jarno finished 5th in the race, following McLaren and Renault.

At the end of the qualifying session, Jarno finished P6 and Ralf P10 (Raikkonen was assessed a 10-position penalty for replacing his engine, so Jarno and Ralf will actually be starting the race at P5 and P9). I was very satisfied with the way things went in qualifying.

Throughout the morning we had trouble getting Ralf’s setting right. On the other hand, we were able to dial in Jarno’s settings without any trouble at all. During the first part of the morning session, temperatures had not come up enough, causing grip problems. We had changed Ralf’s settings since Friday, but he continued to slip throughout Practice 3, so we made more changes ahead of Practice 4. The changes we made seemed to help, but we still weren’t at the point we needed to be to satisfy us. We made some more changes before Ralf’s flying lap, but there were still some problems that kept him from attacking all-out. Looking at the data, we could see that Ralf drove fairly conservatively, and the car was suffering from a tendency to understeer. Meanwhile, Jarno was able to complete a qualifying lap simulation during Practice 4, and translated that into a perfect qualifying attack lap.

We will use the same tire strategy for both cars. Looking at the other teams, it seems they have pretty much the same idea that we do. I do get the feeling that BAR ran with a rather light fuel load during qualifying. McLaren, on the other hand, seems pretty heavy. We’ll start the race P5 and P9. Both spots are on the clean side of the track, which will be to our advantage. Our goal for Sunday is to finish both cars in the points, and I think we have a good chance.

• Sunday: Both cars in the points; fighting for 3rd in the Constructors’ Championship

Ralf finishes 6th right behind Trulli. The rear wing was flattened out to reduce drag-the Panasonic team lettering on the wing is only barely visible.

To put it simply, I was happy with our race. We couldn’t catch up to McLaren, but we battled Ferrari and BAR, finishing ahead of both. We got 100% out of the cars we came with, and I think our strategy served us well.

At the start, it seems our heavy fuel load took its toll. Jarno had a good enough start, but he was overtaken by BAR and then Ferrari. Both BAR and Ferrari were much lighter on fuel, so it was their better braking performance that made the difference, rather than anything Jarno could have done.

Our strategy paid off after the first pit, and we were able to move up in position. We were fairly light on fuel throughout the third (last) stint, and we drove very well. With a heavy fuel load during qualifying on Saturday, I have to give credit to the drivers for bearing down and qualifying as well as they did. The tires were stable throughout the race. During the second pit we made some air pressure adjustments, and we flattened out the wing on Jarno’s car slightly. Although we didn’t win—or even make the podium—I really believe we did the best we could have done under the circumstances. We finished 5-6, following McLaren and Renault across the finish line.

Now, we have drawn to within 8 points of Ferrari in 3rd for the Constructors’ Championship. With four races left, I think we are well within striking distance. We have made much progress in development for next year, and at the same time we’re still continuing to develop the TF105 for this season.

As always, thank you for visiting the official website of Panasonic Toyota Racing, and thank you for your support of our team. I’ll be back with a Keizo report from Belgium next week. Until then…