Mixed fortunes for Toyota
It was a day of mixed fortunes for Toyota at the Bahrain International Circuit. Jarno Trulli will start tomorrow's Bahrain Grand Prix from 7th position while team mate Timo Glock wasn't able to qualify for Q3. The young German will start from 13th position on the grid tomorrow.
Jarno Trulli (Car 11, Chassis TF108-02)
Summary: Made it through to Q3 and the fourth row PROVISIONAL GRID: 7th
FP3 4th Best Lap Time: 1m 32.901s (+0.380s) Laps: 18
Q1 2nd Best Lap Time: 1m 32.493s (+0.556s) Laps: 7
Q2 7th Best Lap Time: 1m 32.159s (+0.971s) Laps: 6
Q3 7th Best Lap Time: 1m 33.994s (+0.898s) Laps: 6
"We are exactly where we wanted to be. Seventh is the best we could achieve in these conditions because we know that Ferrari, McLaren and BMW are still a little bit quicker. So I'm happy, particularly because we again easily made it into the top 10. Before Q3 our fuel rig had an electrical problem so we had to change the rig but it worked out in the end. The car seems well balanced and I am comfortable but obviously we all want a little bit more. We are catching up and we are getting closer to the front. Even if the race is tough with these windy conditions, I'm confident that I will be stronger in the race than in qualifying so we can definitely get points."
Timo Glock (Car 12, Chassis TF108-01)
Summary: Strong in Q1 but narrowly missed Q3 PROVISIONAL GRID: 13th
FP3 15th Best Lap Time: 1m 33.595s (+1.074s) Laps: 20
Q1 6th Best Lap Time: 1m 32.800s (+0.863s) Laps: 9
Q2 13th Best Lap Time: 1m 32.528s (+1.340s) Laps: 6
"It was a bit difficult today, especially with the last set of tyres in Q2. On the first run I had confidence in the car and I knew that I could go quicker. But on the out lap for the last run I could feel that it wasn't working the same way. The wind also made it more difficult and the lap was not perfect so I couldn't improve my time. That took me out of the top ten so it just didn't happen this time. I'm disappointed because the last two Saturdays have been good for us and this makes it more difficult at the first corner tomorrow. Still, we will push hard to gain ground during the race."
Pascal Vasselon, Senior General Manager Chassis: "This weekend has been completely dominated by track conditions. When it's windy in Bahrain the track becomes dusty and sandy and that has determined the performance profile throughout the practice sessions. The wind and the dust leads to a contamination issue on the tyres which means you sometimes don't get the grip back from a given set. For us it has meant that the weekend has gone a little less smoothly than in Sepang, even if we seem to be operating at a similar level of competitiveness. In the end Jarno did a very good job and we took the place that we expected despite the problem with the fuel rig just before Q3. Timo also had the pace for Q3 but he didn't get his best lap time when it was important in Q2 and given how tight the midfield is he ended up outside the top ten. At least this means that we are free to choose his strategy tomorrow. Otherwise we are looking forward to the race because yesterday we were consistent on long runs."
