Friday Summary – Will Toyota Regret Schumacher?

Toyota began its preparation for the last Grand Prix of the season with a very busy day at the Interlagos circuit. Toyota is bidding farewell to Ralf Schumacher and Franck Montagny this weekend and is determined to end the season on a high note with a good result to thank both drivers for their involvement with the team.

Toyota already participated in a competition this weekend, with its team of mechanics finishing in 3rd place in the annual football tournament organized by Petrobras, notably with a 6 to 3 victory over the title-contending team, McLaren.

Nevertheless, for the Japanese team, the stakes are high: Reclaiming the 5th place in the standings from Red Bull. Schumacher, who has been making a positive impression lately, has the ability to score big points, which will be very useful for the team.

Ralf Schumacher – 6th and 11th

It was a very interesting day because we had all possible track conditions, starting with rain and finishing on a dry track. Everything went well and we are happy with the work accomplished. The organizers did a really good job with the new tarmac – it’s smooth and no longer has bumps. This is my last race for Toyota and I’m giving everything I can to achieve a good result for myself and the team. We were competitive in the last race and even though we didn’t finish the event, it was very enjoyable. We can therefore hope it will be the same here, and our goal is to end the season on a high note.

Jarno Trulli – 9th and 16th

« From the beginning of the first session, the car did not behave as I had hoped, so it was a difficult day for me. We will need to study why, as it seems we have several issues to resolve. It’s not so much a question of balance but more about the fact that we haven’t managed to get the tires working properly. The new track surface is very good, they did a great job. The bumps, which were always a problem on this track, are gone, and that’s a big improvement. It’s been a long time since I got a good result, and I am determined to go home happy on Sunday night. For that, we need to score points. »

Dieter Gass – Chief Engineer for Testing and Racing

« The weather made things difficult. With this new tarmac, we would have liked to benefit from two dry sessions in order to properly evaluate the tire behavior. But with less than one session on the dry, we had to try to concentrate our program into one hour, which was impossible. So we followed 2 different programs on the 2 cars trying to maximize the information collected. We must now study the data and decide what to do tomorrow. The new tarmac has smoothed out the bumps but it’s difficult to say how the tires will behave over the course of the weekend. »

The weather should be settled now, and we must therefore work tirelessly in preparation for the qualifications and the race.

According to Toyota F1