|
Chinese Grand Prix - Preview |
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, 14 October 2008 |
|
Panasonic
Toyota Racing is back in action almost immediately after the Japanese
Grand Prix, with a relatively short journey across the East China Sea
to the Shanghai International Circuit for the penultimate race of the
season. The modern 5.451km circuit in an outlying suburb of Shanghai
has hosted the Chinese Grand Prix since 2004 and features a combination
of long straights and tight corners, including a uniquely twisty
first-corner complex and the demanding Turn 13. Jarno Trulli and Timo
Glock will use the same specification TF108s they raced at Fuji
Speedway, utilising the upgraded baseline aerodynamic package but with
the medium and hard Bridgestone Potenza tyres. After taking four points
from the Japanese Grand Prix thanks to Jarno's fifth place, the team is
determined to fight in the top six again in Shanghai as the end of the
season approaches.
Jarno
Trulli (Car 11): "Shanghai is an interesting circuit and it is
pretty challenging to find the best set-up because there are a lot of
very slow corners but also two long, high-speed straights. Then there
is Turn 13, which is key to a good lap time because if you lose speed
there you suffer throughout the long straight. I have never enjoyed a
lot of luck in China but I do enjoy racing there and I hope this year
will finally see me score my first points at the track. We have been
pushing really hard all season and we are still very motivated to
finish the year on a high in these last two races. In the end we had to
be happy with fifth place in Fuji but I was hoping for a little more in
front of our home fans. The lower temperatures didn't really suit our
car in Japan but it should be a bit warmer in China, which will be
better for us. I am fired up to get a good result this
weekend."
Timo
Glock (Car 12): "This is one of the few circuits I raced a
Formula 1 car on before this season and it is good to have that
experience behind me for this weekend. The facility is amazing; it is
so huge and modern, but the track itself is also a bit tricky because
you have the unusual first corner and a few other challenging spots. It
is amazing to think my first season with Toyota is almost at an end; I
have been pleased with my performances and it is satisfying to have met
my targets for the year. Our car is competitive and I believe I can
score points in every race so that is my first target for this weekend,
and after that we will push to finish as high as possible. I was
expecting better in Japan, obviously, and I thought I was in decent
shape to finish in the points before I had to retire. It's good that we
race again so soon after because I can forget what happened at Fuji
and focus on returning to the points in Shanghai."
Pascal
Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis: "Shanghai has a
very unusual lay-out and that gives us various challenges on the set-up
front. Even though you have the two straights and you want good top
speed, the track is still relatively high downforce and that is because
of Turns 1 and 13. You need good balance through the very long
right-hander of Turn 13 so you can take the speed on to the straight.
This corner is also crucial to overtaking because if you can follow
another car closely, you have a chance to pass into Turn 14. We have
the hardest compounds of Bridgestone tyres this weekend and that makes
sense because in the past we have seen graining issues with softer
tyres in China. We used the same specifications last year and they
behaved reasonably well. In terms of other parameters such as the
brakes and the engine, Shanghai is not particularly demanding. We will
again
use some of the upgrades we introduced in Fuji and I am confident we
can be competitive."
|
