Nürburgring Report – Aufräumungskommando

New system, same story
With a qualifying format my grandmother can finally understand, I was able to sit comfortably in my chair on a sunny Saturday afternoon knowing that in an hours time I’d know who was on pole for tomorrows race. When it came down to the two Toyota’s I was confident of a top six grid slot after Ricardo Zonta was able to keep his Toyota within the top three during Friday’s practice sessions. When Jarno Trulli sprang into his hot lap the pace of the Toyota was evident, this was going to be a good lap! With there just being one session now for qualifying it was all or nothing and Jarno didn’t disappoint crossing the line in provisional pole. Not even German homeboy Ralf Schumacher could beat him, even if he went out later in the session. But fourth and eighth by the end was reasonable, possibly Jarno was filled lighter than Ralf but we were very well placed on the grid, importantly ahead of rival Honda who couldn’t even scrape into the top ten on their return. All in all the new format didn’t help Toyota, but then it didn’t wound us either so my verdict is… new system, same story.

Hero to Zero by the first corner
If you’ve ever wondered how things can go horribly wrong during a Grand Prix, take Toyota’s opening lap as an extreme example. Even before the race the team were already on their back foot as the mechanics for Jarno Trulli’s Toyota failed to clear the grid in time which would earn the Italian a drive-through penalty some laps later. For Ralf Schumacher he got caught up in a first corner incident triggered by Williams’ Mark Webber and McLaren’s Juan Pablo Montoya causing the rest behind to take avoiding action. This left Ralf limping back to the pits for a new front wing whilst Mark retired his Williams in the gravel.

Jarno was very unfortunate to get penalised for a mistake which wasn’t his fault. Before his drive-though he was up in third place, a position he felt the team could have finished in. But rules are rules, and you can’t have mechanics on the race track just before twenty Formula One cars are about to lay rubber on their starting slots, it would be far too dangerous and I’m sure lessons have been learnt. Whilst for Ralf, again another unfortunate incident which killed his race there and then, maybe buy some rubber bumpers and carry spares in the boot next time out Ralf!

How much is a 50 pence shape Tyre?
Luckily for Toyota we are yet to experience a tyre failer this season, but our fellow Michelin runners have been having their problems and last weekend was no different. The debatable area ‘do we keep the single tyre rule?’ took another twist as Sauber and McLaren featured tyre wear dilemmas, which would put pay to their points finishing positions.

For Kimi Raikkonen the win was in the bag right up until he hit the brakes into turn one on the final lap where his suspension let go leaving him spinning into the barriers. This was due to tyre which was shaped as a 50 pence piece, this was inflicted after many lock ups during the race. Some say with such a defaced tyre he should had pitted and therefore still finished on the podium, others say you should stay out and be a racer. Sadly the team took the risk and lost, which was largely Kimi’s fault as no other team has experienced such a failure using Michelin tyres this season. But how could you prevent such an incident recurring? Maybe the car can be pulled into the pits using the black and orange flag due to the car being a hazard to itself as well as your fellow competitors? Others will say scrap the rule completely and go back to tyre changing. After seeing some of the races, I’m for the rule and feel it brings out another talent of the modern Grand Prix driver and if you crash or spin because you’ve worked your tyres too hard… tough luck I say.

Well earned cash!
There were many drivers who caught my eye this weekend, Williams’ Nick Heidfeld put in an excellent job to take his first career pole position and then second place in Sunday’s race. I’m 100% for the German, and pray this isn’t his final season in Formula One and his future will become brighter in terms of contracts during the latter stages of the season. Then theres championship leader Fernando Alonso who kept it clean from sixth on the grid to take a well deserved win, even if he did take a little trip through the gravel trap. But my driver of the day has to be Red Bull Racing’s David Coulthard, moving from twelfth on the grid to third by the end of the first lap was megger! Yet even with a drive-though penalty for speeding in the pit lane he still finished fourth, 30 seconds behind race winner Alonso. Well done David, life in the old dog yet… your wage was well earned that afternoon!

Forward, not back for Toyota
The last two races really do need to be put to sleep with the door locked and the key thrown away. I guess we can’t expect everything in just one season, but at lest we have finished in the top eight since the Malaysian Grand Prix. Our next two races in Canada and the USA have always been kind to Toyota, our strong engine has faired well even without the right package. But we head to the home of the dollar with a much better performing car, something we can at lest be proud of, something that should see us back were we belong.

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