• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

18 March,2008 (Tue)

This weekend marks the seventh year of Panasonic Toyota Racing in the F1 World Championship. We are dedicated to making this the year that we claim a spot at the top, and we hope you follow along with us throughout the entire season. With that, I am pleased to file my report from Melbourne and the Australian GP, the opening race of the 2008 season.

Great Performance Gains during Final Winter Tests

It is hard to believe that we have already reached our seventh year in F1. The day before the start of the race weekend, we held an all-hands meeting at the Albert Park Circuit garage. It was an inspiring meeting, where committed to each other to take our six years of experience and make 2008 the best season ever. The TF108, our chosen weapon for battle this season, marked top times at the final joint testing session held late last February. With Jarno behind the wheel, the car marked the top time, proving beyond a doubt the direction our development program has taken. Since we first unveiled the new car, we made changes not only to the rear wing, but also several changes to aero parts attached to the chassis, including the barge board and diffuser. The drivers have expressed their confidence in the TF108 heading into the first race of the season, and our goal there is to follow closely behind the top two teams, finding our way to the podium if either of the two teams ahead falter.

Unexpected Troubles during Friday Practice

The weather reports called for three days of clear and warm weather for the Australian GP. Knowing that we will be heading directly to the Malaysian GP next week, we brought our hot-weather spec to Australia, providing plenty of cooling for the conditions there. Last year, we were frustrated with tire graining problems, but we should be fine as long as the track stays as warm as we expect.

Unfortunately, we encountered some unexpected trouble during free practice on day one. First, we had issues with a bearing in Timo Glock’s right rear wheel during the morning session. Owing to that, we had to abandon the last 30 minutes of morning practice, replacing the upright to get Timo’s car ready for the afternoon session.

Both drivers encountered battery troubles at almost the exact same time during the afternoon session, and changing the batteries turned out to be more effort than we expected. Jarno’s rear left tire slid off the track during the late stages of the session, spinning on the grass. Caught up in the gravel, Jarno’s practice ended at that point. At the time, Jarno had just started a long run on the softer tire compound, so this development kept us from fully comparing the soft and medium compounds as we hoped to do.
Even with these troubles, Jarno marked P7 and Timo marked P10 on the time sheets. Of course, we had no idea how much fuel our competition was using, and our setup wasn’t perfectly dialed in, so we took another thorough look at our data before heading into qualifying.
 

An Unlucky Saturday...but Favorable Speed

With both cars reaching the top 10 in the first official qualifying of the season, and then being able to improve position from there, I would have to say they put in a very strong performance. But continuing mechanical issues are something that we will definitely have to improve.

New regulations introduced this season require teams to use the same gearbox for four races. We worked hard on our gearbox specification to emphasize greater reliability. You could understand if I told you that we were all shocked to be the first team to run afoul of the new rules this year.

An even greater shock came when Timo, already penalized five positions on the starting grid for installing a new gear box prior to qualifying, was assessed an additional five-position penalty for interfering with other cars running hot laps. That Timo had driven so well during the weekend through the second qualifying period made the situation all the more disappointing.

Jarno’s car experienced clutch troubles during the morning session, preventing him from driving to his potential. Even so, Jarno turned in a superb attack lap. The second qualifying period was particularly competitive, with seven drivers all finishing within 0.2 seconds of each other. My congratulations to Jarno for coming in at P9, and continuing on to the final qualifying period.

A Rough Race and a Potential Top Finish, but Unable to Capitalize

The first race of the season turned out to be a very rough affair, with the safety car coming out on three separate occasions. It is exactly this type of race in which we must be the team to survive if we want to capture championship points. Unfortunately, our string of problems continued during the race.

While we were a little anxious about how the cars would start off the grid, both cleared without any difficulty. Our drivers skillfully avoided the early confusion, and Jarno drove hard, keeping in the points during the first stint. Electrical system component issues, however, forced Jarno to retire at the first pit stop. This was a particular embarrassment since the issue had occurred once before.

Starting from the back half of the grid, Timo had a slightly heavier fuel load on top of the softer tire compound. Despite this combination, an accident ahead allowed him to climb to P13 in the first lap. Later, with lucky safety car timing, Timo moved up to P10. Going into a corner on lap 44, Timo fought oversteer, running off the track in his bid to compensate. As he attempted to return to the course, his car crashed, stuck between the gravel and the grass. Both front and rear suspensions broke, forcing Timo to retire from the race.

Despite how events turned out, the TF108 drove strong enough to finish in the points (except for the mechanical issues). We left the opening race of the season feeling that we have developed enough performance to certainly be in the fight among the second-tier teams. Timo was taken to the medical center immediately after coming off the circuit, and fortunately, he didn’t suffer any physical damage, so he will be ready to go again next weekend.

We look forward to all of you cheering us on at next week’s Malaysian GP.

Noritoshi Arai, at Albert Park Circuit. Given the strong long-run pace of the TF108, the developments of the weekend were particularly disappointing. The team is looking to battle back for points at next week- Malaysian GP.