Malaysia: GP Preview
By TTF1
March 15 2005
Panasonic Toyota Racing enters the second round of the 2005 F1 championship in Malaysia this weekend determined to open its 2005 points tally after just missing out in Melbourne.
STAND AND DELIVER
After placing his TF105 firmly on the front row of the grid for the
Australian Grand Prix and shadowing eventual race winner Giancarlo
Fisichella until the first round of pit stops, Jarno Trulli fell foul of a
blistered rear tyre after his first refuelling stop which dropped him down
the field to a disappointing ninth place come the chequered flag. Jarno,
however, is adamant for better fortune in this weekend's 58-lap Malaysian
Grand Prix.
Jarno Trulli (Car 16): "I was buoyed by our front row starting position in
Australia because it wasn't all down to the weather conditions in
qualifying. The TF105 was well suited to Albert Park and I was pleased with
the car's behaviour over the weekend. Therefore, I am confident for the
Malaysian Grand Prix. Sepang is an interesting track technically and one of
the most demanding of the season for drivers because of the intense heat and
humidity. With the new technical regulations for engines and tyres, we could
see some surprises and upsets this weekend. I hope we fall into the former
category. We missed out on points in Melbourne, but I looking to rectify
that in Sepang."
KUALA SHAKER
Starting from near the back of the field in Melbourne courtesy of a
qualifying downpour, Ralf Schumacher had a competitive debut for Panasonic
Toyota Racing, although few outside of the team even noticed. An unscheduled
extra pit stop to tighten a loosened seat belt ended his chance of points,
but in the process of making up positions to an ultimate 12th place, Ralf
set the ninth quickest lap of the race, just 0.6s from the race winner's
best lap. Like Jarno, Ralf is out to shake up the grid in Malaysia this
weekend.
Ralf Schumacher (Car 17): "The Australian Grand Prix was full of mixed
fortunes for me after sheer bad luck with the weather in qualifying,
followed by an unexpected extra trip to the pits in the race. All in all, it
was a missed opportunity to score points. My race debut for Toyota was
extremely encouraging in terms of car performance and team operations. It
can only be a matter of time before we finish in the points. Malaysia will
be interesting because most cars will start the race with the same engine
that finished in Australia. In Sepang, with the stifling heat, we could see
some teams with technical issues. I think we should be confident in our
TF105 car and RVX-05 engine and if our excellent reliability continues,
points are by no means out the question."
HOT'S TOUGH
With ambient temperatures often reaching in excess of 35°C, some 25°C hotter
than the best of the pre-season testing conditions, it is not only the
drivers who are put under pressure in Malaysia. Teams are forced to take
extra preventative measures to keep their cars in shape during the entire
weekend, but have only had European winter climes in which to prepare.
Mike Gascoyne - Technical Director Chassis: "The most challenging aspect for
the weekend comes not from track, but from the ambient temperatures. Inside
the car, the extra heat is impossible to replicate at pre-season testing, so
we have to use data acquired from tests in Spain and data from previous
racing seasons to carefully analyse what conditions to expect during the
weekend. We need to make use of an efficient cooling system in the car,
which I am pleased to say, performed well on the TF105 in Australia. As part
of our ongoing development programme, which is focussed predominantly on
aerodynamic upgrades, we will introduce a new front wing in Malaysia, as
well as some other new smaller components, all of which have been designed
to further improve the efficiency and performance of our entire aerodynamic
package.
READY TWO RACE
Panasonic Toyota Racing will start the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend with the
same two engines with which it left the pitlane for the first lap of first
practice in Melbourne. Each RVX-05 engine already has considerable mileage
under its belt and will be looking at double that by the time Jarno and Ralf
cross the chequered flag in Malaysia, whilst coping with the added pressure
of the Sepang sun.
Luca Marmorini - Technical Director Engine: "Malaysia will be the first
race where we will see the effects of the new engine rules. Reliability was
impressive in Australia, but combined with the heat of Sepang, this second
race will be extremely demanding for engines. There has been a lot of
controversy surrounding loopholes in the new engine rules, but exploitation
of such grey areas is against our understanding of racing. Even though our
drivers did not score any points in the last race, we decided to pass the
chequered flag out of respect for the new rules. We fully accept the spirit
and intention of the 2005 engine regulation and we believe that if we are to
challenge for points regularly, we must finish the race and that means
having an engine to last two races. With Ralf completing 570km and Jarno
670km in Melbourne, this obviously increases the chance of having an engine
failure in Malaysia, but this is how we must act if we are to fight for
points."
After placing his TF105 firmly on the front row of the grid for the
Australian Grand Prix and shadowing eventual race winner Giancarlo
Fisichella until the first round of pit stops, Jarno Trulli fell foul of a
blistered rear tyre after his first refuelling stop which dropped him down
the field to a disappointing ninth place come the chequered flag. Jarno,
however, is adamant for better fortune in this weekend's 58-lap Malaysian
Grand Prix.
Jarno Trulli (Car 16): "I was buoyed by our front row starting position in
Australia because it wasn't all down to the weather conditions in
qualifying. The TF105 was well suited to Albert Park and I was pleased with
the car's behaviour over the weekend. Therefore, I am confident for the
Malaysian Grand Prix. Sepang is an interesting track technically and one of
the most demanding of the season for drivers because of the intense heat and
humidity. With the new technical regulations for engines and tyres, we could
see some surprises and upsets this weekend. I hope we fall into the former
category. We missed out on points in Melbourne, but I looking to rectify
that in Sepang."
KUALA SHAKER
Starting from near the back of the field in Melbourne courtesy of a
qualifying downpour, Ralf Schumacher had a competitive debut for Panasonic
Toyota Racing, although few outside of the team even noticed. An unscheduled
extra pit stop to tighten a loosened seat belt ended his chance of points,
but in the process of making up positions to an ultimate 12th place, Ralf
set the ninth quickest lap of the race, just 0.6s from the race winner's
best lap. Like Jarno, Ralf is out to shake up the grid in Malaysia this
weekend.
Ralf Schumacher (Car 17): "The Australian Grand Prix was full of mixed
fortunes for me after sheer bad luck with the weather in qualifying,
followed by an unexpected extra trip to the pits in the race. All in all, it
was a missed opportunity to score points. My race debut for Toyota was
extremely encouraging in terms of car performance and team operations. It
can only be a matter of time before we finish in the points. Malaysia will
be interesting because most cars will start the race with the same engine
that finished in Australia. In Sepang, with the stifling heat, we could see
some teams with technical issues. I think we should be confident in our
TF105 car and RVX-05 engine and if our excellent reliability continues,
points are by no means out the question."
HOT'S TOUGH
With ambient temperatures often reaching in excess of 35°C, some 25°C hotter
than the best of the pre-season testing conditions, it is not only the
drivers who are put under pressure in Malaysia. Teams are forced to take
extra preventative measures to keep their cars in shape during the entire
weekend, but have only had European winter climes in which to prepare.
Mike Gascoyne - Technical Director Chassis: "The most challenging aspect for
the weekend comes not from track, but from the ambient temperatures. Inside
the car, the extra heat is impossible to replicate at pre-season testing, so
we have to use data acquired from tests in Spain and data from previous
racing seasons to carefully analyse what conditions to expect during the
weekend. We need to make use of an efficient cooling system in the car,
which I am pleased to say, performed well on the TF105 in Australia. As part
of our ongoing development programme, which is focussed predominantly on
aerodynamic upgrades, we will introduce a new front wing in Malaysia, as
well as some other new smaller components, all of which have been designed
to further improve the efficiency and performance of our entire aerodynamic
package.
READY TWO RACE
Panasonic Toyota Racing will start the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend with the
same two engines with which it left the pitlane for the first lap of first
practice in Melbourne. Each RVX-05 engine already has considerable mileage
under its belt and will be looking at double that by the time Jarno and Ralf
cross the chequered flag in Malaysia, whilst coping with the added pressure
of the Sepang sun.
Luca Marmorini - Technical Director Engine: "Malaysia will be the first
race where we will see the effects of the new engine rules. Reliability was
impressive in Australia, but combined with the heat of Sepang, this second
race will be extremely demanding for engines. There has been a lot of
controversy surrounding loopholes in the new engine rules, but exploitation
of such grey areas is against our understanding of racing. Even though our
drivers did not score any points in the last race, we decided to pass the
chequered flag out of respect for the new rules. We fully accept the spirit
and intention of the 2005 engine regulation and we believe that if we are to
challenge for points regularly, we must finish the race and that means
having an engine to last two races. With Ralf completing 570km and Jarno
670km in Melbourne, this obviously increases the chance of having an engine
failure in Malaysia, but this is how we must act if we are to fight for
points."