28 May,2007 (Mon)

Thank you for your support over the weekend. At this point, we've completed the final race of the first half of the European Round. Here is my report from the legendary Monaco Grand Prix.

Recheck reliability before Monaco based on our review of the Spanish GP

After looking into the fuel pressure problem that occurred in Jarno (Trulli)'s car at the start of the Spanish GP we discovered that the issue was caused by a simple fuel leak. Given that fact, we made no major mechanical systems changes before the Monaco GP, concentrating mainly on car maintenance. When Ralf (Schumacher) retired from the Spanish GP, he came in to the pits based on information given over the wireless that something was wrong with the wheel bearings, which we determined could not be repaired in time to go back out and finish the race. The fact of the matter was that the vibrations in Ralf's car were being caused by something around the nose area, and had we simply changed the nose, he would have been able to continue the race. This left quite a bitter taste in our mouths. Certainly there are areas where reliability is risked in order to make the car faster, but the car still has to complete a race in order to have any kind of result. A true top F1 team demonstrates both speed and reliability. During the two weeks leading up to the Monaco GP, the entire factory came together, focusing efforts on improving car reliability.

Strong times on the first day, with Jarno at P4 and Ralf fast, too, despite a crash

A supersoft tire compound was introduced for the first time this year at the Monaco GP. Along with the rest of the teams, we tested this supersoft tire during the Paul Ricard testing prior to the race, but the Paul Ricard circuit is nothing like the rough roads of the Monaco circuit, so we knew it would be important to run as many laps as possible during free practice. But being a street circuit, the Monaco course was very dusty during the first free practice, which kept us from using the supersoft tires. Once the drive line cleaned up a bit during the afternoon practice session, we were able to take lap data on both types of tires.

The major issue at Monaco is how to deal with front tire graining (peeling wear), but neither of our cars experienced as much graining as expected, much to our relief. But the road conditions at Monaco can change quite dramatically, so even with Jarno's P4 quickness during the afternoon session, we did not let ourselves become overconfident. We knew we still had room to improve our car setup.

While Ralf's crash during the last stages of free practice on day two was unfortunate, he had set personal fast times in Sectors 1 and 2 during that lap, showing a fair bit of speed. Regrettably, Ralf got caught up on the curb at the Poolside Chicane, pushing him off balance and hard into the wall, resulting in a broken front right suspension. Fortunately, the unique Monaco GP schedule meant that the following day was a rest day, allowing us a bit of time to recover our emotions.

A Q2 Yellow Flag Costs Jarno the Chance to Reach the Top 10

Unfortunately, neither of our cars were able to qualify in the top 10, making it the first time this year that we didn't have at least one car moving on to the final qualifying period. The only words that come to mind to characterize our mood are "tremendously disappointed."

Much of the blame for Jarno's being knocked out during Q2 can be attributed to Kimi Raikkonen's (Ferrari) car stopping in the Rascasse Corner-the turn just before the final corner of the circuit. The accident occurred just as Jarno began his attack lap. We were able to see the incident on our monitors, but we expected the marshals to quickly move the car out of the way, so we didn't bother to inform Jarno over the radio. And in point of fact, Raikkonen's car was off the circuit by the time Jarno passed the area, but the marshal at the post immediately before Rascasse was still waving the yellow flag, forcing Jarno to lift off the accelerator. If not for that flag, Jarno would have recorded a time in the 1M 16s range, easily advancing to the final qualifying period.

Jarno had one more chance at a time attack after that incident, but the car's brakes started to lock up, keeping Jarno from making an aggressive attack run, and knocking him out of qualifying at the end of Q2.

Ralf also had some issues with traffic, but the major factor impeding his qualifying was the bouncing behavior of his car after going over a curb. The problem showed up on the first day of practice, and we still hadn't been able to resolve it by qualifying.

Even with our disappointments, one never knows what will happen at the Monaco GP. We approached the race with a determination to fight to the end, hoping for a chance.

A stumble at the start finished our day; heading to the North American Round for a comeback!

The Start was the beginning of the end of our race. First, Jarno's engine almost stalled the instant he pulled off the starting line. Since the engine didn't completely stop, Jarno was able to quickly re-engage the clutch and start moving off the line again. By that time, however, Jarno had already been overtaken by several cars, dropping down to P18 before even getting to the first corner.

Ralf's start was not particularly bad, but some of the cars ahead that had been fight for position in the first corner were forced to go off the course to avoid the confusion. These cars came back on the course at a point past the first corner, relegating Ralf to the last position. Being P18 and P22 at a course like Monaco, where there are no legitimate overtaking points, meant that we were going to be in for a very tough day of racing.

The team had decided on a one-stop strategy for both cars, which I think was a good strategy going in. Unfortunately for us, this race ended up being one with a very high ratio of cars finishing the race-19 scored as a complete race, and 17 taking the checkered flag. Few retirements made it very difficult for us to gain position. On top of that, Jarno was struggling with high brake temperatures, preventing him from keeping pace with the top cars.

Even given the circumstances, we were gratified that both cars completed the race. While we weren't able to secure top results during the first half of the European Round, I can assure you that Panasonic Toyota Racing is dedicated to showing our true power during the North American Round. We thank you, and ask for your continued support.

Noritoshi Arai, looking forward to the legendary Monaco GP. The stumbles during qualifying continued through to the end of the race weekend, but at least both cars completed the entire race. Panasonic Toyota Racing is focused on making a comeback during the North American Round.