Between the last GP in Belgium and this one in Brazil, we conducted testing of the TF105B at Silverstone in England. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate, so we weren’t able to get enough testing done to be able to bring the B spec car to Interlagos. We did, however, bring a new aero parts package with us. We made changes to the front wing and to the splitter located under the large fins on the side pontoons. Jarno had a fresh engine for the race, but the spec is the same as it has been for the last several races.

• Friday: Vexed by bumps, but a complete and clean program

Having changed out his engine, Trulli was penalized 10 spots on the starting grid, to start the race P17.

On Friday morning, the track surface was quite dirty and slippery, and we saw some graining (frayed wear spots) on our tires. We also had some problems with the signature feature of the Interlagos Circuit—a very bumpy track. Actually, the first half of the infield section between Turns 6 and 8 had been resurfaced, but it seemed to only make things worse, and the drivers had a real fight on their hands to keep their cars from jumping around.

The weather forecast for the Brazilian GP this year called for clouds and cooler temperatures over the entire weekend. On Friday, the temperature rose only slightly in the afternoon, and the track surface temperature even cooled a bit during the last half of the session. Ultimately, all three of our cars (including Zonta’s) were able to build up a nice number of laps without any trouble, and we were able to complete our tire selection program as planned.

We were able to get a complete set of data for both types of tires, and without much apparent difference between the two, it didn’t look like we would have much trouble in selecting one or the other. However, we still had much room for improvement in terms of car balance. The biggest issue going into Saturday was how to stabilize the behavior of the car over such a bumpy track surface. Our times and positions at the end of the day were more affected by getting caught up in traffic, so we really had no worries at that point in the weekend.

• Saturday: An engine change with an eye toward Suzuka

	Fighting understeer, Ralf raced strong through the finish, winning 1 point for Panasonic Toyota Racing.

I have to say that we were all very disappointed with qualifying. First, I’ll explain why we changed our Jarno’s engine before his attack lap. His engine was showing a great deal of pneumatic pressure loss, but we believed there was a good chance we could finish the race by refilling during the pit stops. The only problem is that we’d have to use the same engine at the next race in Suzuka, so we came to the conclusion that it would be better to change engines here and have done with it.

It’s all the more frustrating, since we had Jarno’s settings perfectly dialed in during the morning free drive session. I feel very bad for our driver. In the end, Jarno made his attack lap knowing he would automatically lose 10 positions on the grid no matter how fast he drove. But Jarno stayed positive, and he did a really great job for us on his qualifying run. Interlagos is an extremely difficult course for overtaking. We knew that if Jarno could drive fast enough to qualify in the single digits, then he wouldn’t have to start at the very back of the field during the race. I hoped he would qualify somewhere between 6th and 8th, so we could have a chance, and his results were well within our expectations.

Meanwhile, Ralf had no issues with his car at all. We completed all of our setup work during the morning, with Ralf running on the option tires (Jarno was on prime). We had every indication that Ralf would turn in a strong qualifying lap. But as soon as Ralf started his time attack, the car suddenly showed unexpected understeer symptoms, and Ralf was unable to improve on his best lap time during the morning session.

Neither of our drivers were able to secure a starting position at the top of the grid, but we’re still in the hunt for the Constructors’ Championship, so we knew we had to keep fighting to the end. Since the results here in Brazil affect the qualifying lap order at the Japanese GP, even if we couldn’t win any points (and it goes without saying that our goal was to win points), we wanted to finish at least one or two positions higher than our starting grid.

• Sunday: A Truly Frustrating Race

The new aerodynamic specification called for two splitters located underneath the fin at the side of the side pontoon.

What a tremendously frustrating race it was for all of us. First, Jarno, starting in 18th position, had to detour wide off to the outside of the course to avoid an accident that occurred in front of him just after the start. The result, adding insult to injury, was that Jarno lost a few more positions before he had even really begun. This was the start of a vicious cycle where Jarno was first stuck behind the Jordan car (Karthikeyan), and then couldn’t get around the BAR car (Takuma Sato). After the first pit, Jarno was once again caught behind BAR.

To top everything off, Jarno’s engine showed a tremendous amount of air leakage from the pneumatic valve, forcing us to refill the air at every pit stop. Ultimately, we had to retire the car before finishing the race. Having two engines with the same trouble in one weekend is of grave concern to us. We fully intend to identify the issue and resolve it before the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix.

Ralf was able to avoid the confusion at the first corner, and had a strong start, but we still hadn’t been able to resolve our tire issues that had cropped up the day earlier. Ralf reported back to us that he had no grip during the race, and the car was very difficult to handle, especially during the first half. But even with all the trouble, Ralf held on to drive a solid race, finishing 8th and saving the weekend from being categorized a complete disaster. Jarno retired, but still managed to score a 13th place finish, so you could say that our qualifying lap order for the Japanese Grand Prix won’t be good, but it won’t be disastrously bad, either.

With the results of this race, Ferrari has opened a gap ahead of us for 3rd in the Constructors’ Championship, but we still have a chance. From here, we will be going to Jerez to conduct more tests on the TF105B. If we can verify its performance, there’s a good chance we will be unveiling it at the Japanese Grand Prix. We also plan on upgrading the most powerful engine we have had this season. You can be sure that we will give our best performance of the year in front of our fans and Suzuka and around the world. We will give it everything we have, and a bit more for good measure.

Thank you again for visiting the official Panasonic Toyota Website. I’ll be back again with another Keizo report after the Japanese Grand Prix. Until then…