Problems solved for Timo Glock’s Marussia
The first five rounds of the World Championship had shown Timo Glock gradually being outpaced by Charles Pic, his young French teammate. In Monaco, this was not the case, thanks to repairs made to the rear suspension of his MR01.
We were starting to doubt Timo Glock. He himself wasn’t calm, wondering if he had forgotten how to drive. The fact is that since the Bahrain Grand Prix, the German complained about erratic behavior of his car: “I would suddenly oversteer, and after a few laps, the tires were dead,” he tells Auto Motor und Sport.
Problems that did not arise during the private tests at Mugello, run in Charles Pic’s car. But once back in his own racing chassis, in Barcelona, the sensations were the same, and the qualifying result just as disappointing, nearly 5 tenths behind his teammate.
Quickly, suspicions turned towards the rear shock absorption structure, or even the transmission casing. Ultimately, it was thanks to another reliability issue that the correct diagnosis could be made: the problem with the rear driveshaft of the Marussia number 24, encountered at the end of the Saturday morning free practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix, caught the mechanics’ attention on the rear suspension triangle mounts, which were found to be damaged.
Such a problem — comparable to the one encountered by Lotus during private testing in Barcelona, which had been quickly detected and corrected — affects the car’s balance in all situations, because instead of firmly attaching the wheel to the chassis, it introduces play and thus undesirable vibrations, at a time when tire preservation is crucial, not to mention the loss of grip on the rear axle.
Once the suspension was repaired and on a Monaco circuit where the difficulty levels the performance of the cars, Timo Glock regained his form, turning to his advantage the half-second conceded in Spain, before confirming with a 14th place in the race. The German is now focused on Montreal, where he intends to take advantage of his regained form, while keeping an eye on Silverstone, where Marussia will provide its two drivers with an important update. If the figures are confirmed, it will be a big step forward, he hopes. A welcome boost in the battle between the Russian constructor and Caterham and HRT for a tenth place in the Constructors’ Championship, which is richly rewarded.
