Thank you for your support over the weekend. Here is my report from the Malaysian Grand Prix, the second of two back–to–back races opening the 2008 F1 season.

Timo, raced in the T–car from Australia. While he had to retire from the race, he qualified in the top 10 for the second race in a row, turning in a very satisfactory performance.

A newly reworked electrical system; Timo drives the T–Car after the Melbourne Crash

Before I describe the events of the Malaysian Grand Prix, I should offer some more information about the troubles that tripped us up in Australia. We were able to identify and fix several issues with the electrical system that caused problems in Jarno (Trulli)’s car in Australia. However, we still haven’t been able to trace 100% of the problems. Ultimately we decided to introduce a new specification for this race, making a close inspection of each of the electrical system components.

Timo (Glock)’s car was damaged in Australia due to the height gap between the gravel runoff area and the grass. The damage wasn’t as bad as it first appeared, and we even considered using the car as is, but we found some minor damage in the smaller components around the brackets and suspension connections. Accordingly, we made the decision to use our T–car from the Australian GP, just to be safe. The FIA contacted us asking to be allowed to evaluate Timo’s physical condition again. Timo underwent a medical check at the circuit on Thursday evening, and I am happy to report that there are no problems.

Finishing 2nd here in 2005, Jarno seems well suited for Malaysia. Jarno drove a terrific race, never conceding even an inch to his tough rivals.

Collecting valuable data during free practice. Great expectations after Jarno- long run.

With the Malaysian GP following just the week after the Australian GP, we brought the same aerodynamic specification we used in Melbourne. Since the downforce profile for Sepang is quite similar to the Melbourne circuit, we started our weekend using basically the same downforce levels we did at the Australian GP. Last week, we immediately ran into trouble at Friday- practice, which prevented us from driving as we wanted. This week, however, we had no problems whatever, and we progressed smoothly through our program. We were able to compare both types of tires, gather plenty of live data, check different mechanical setups, and compare several different downforce levels.

The result was that Jarno was able to mark the sixth–best time on the time charts during afternoon free practice. Moreover, Jarno’s best time wasn’t even run on fresh tires. His fastest lap was actually the last of a 14–lap long run, which was quite an encouragement going into the upcoming weekend battle. While Timo finished 17th on the time charts, his performance was more due to the fact that he was running a different program than Jarno, so we weren’t particularly concerned.

Despite the tough schedule, with this race coming right on the heels of Australia, the team provided splendid support to our two drivers. Our 4th-place finish reflects the efforts of the entire Panasonic Toyota Racing team.

Both cars qualify top 10 for the second race in a row, despite no help from the top teams

I think both drivers turned in a splendid qualifying performance. Jarno, who was so quick on Friday, suffered from a tendency to slide due to lack of grip. Timo experienced the same symptoms, but looking toward qualifying, we put both cars on a light fuel load during Saturday morning practice. Both drivers reported that the tires were biting much better, and that was proved in our one-lap speeds.

During the first period of qualifying, Jarno clocked the quickest time of all, and Timo, at P11, also moved into the next session. Looking at Timo’s time, we started to feel very confident in our chances. That Jarno was able to qualify P5 without any of the top teams faltering can be interpreted as a great success for Panasonic Toyota Racing. Timo, who also made it into the final qualifying period for the second week in a row, simply drove a superb qualifying session. The reason we couldn’t break the 1m39s barrier during the final period was due to the fact that we used two sets of the softer medium compound (the “option” tire at Sepang) in each of the first two qualifying periods, leaving nothing available for the third.

Our target was to have each driver finish at least one position higher than they started on the grid.

Jarno reached the finish line having brilliantly chased down Hamilton from behind. We池e looking forward to even better finishes next race.

A 4th-place finish thanks to a team effort. The real work starts now.

Our 4th–place finish in Malaysia was result of the efforts of not only the drivers, but the quick work of our mechanics in the pits, the engineers who came up with a perfect pit strategy, and the work of every other single person on the Panasonic Toyota Racing team. While dropping position off the starting grid, I can’t fault Jarno, who was able to make is safely through the problematic first corner. Rather, I have to applaud his performance in chasing down the McLaren. Jarno used the medium tire compound to its fullest, consistently turning in stable, quick laps. Unfortunately, our car has just a touch too much downforce, resulting in too much drag through the straights, and preventing us from overtaking. It is apparent that we still have room for improvement in our aerodynamics.

I can only blame bad luck for what happened to Timo. His car brushed another right after the start of the race, and then bumped into another car (Nico Rosberg) in corner 14 of the first lap. With part of his rear suspension broken, Timo was forced to retire from the race. It was a very disappointing end, especially considering how well things had progressed through qualifying.

We captured our first points of the season this weekend. But to my mind, this only marks the start in our goal to reach the top spot on the podium. There is still a measurable gap between us and Ferrari, and I don’t believe that McLaren showed all they have today, either. There- no guarantee we will be able to battle like this every race.

The next race is the Bahrain Grand Prix, held at the circuit where we conducted our February testing. We hope you cheer us on as we build on the successes of this weekend to reach even greater heights.