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Belgium: If, If, If
By Nick Sparkes
September 14 2005
One of the most exciting races of the year was about to get underway. As for the sixteenth round of the Formula One World Championship, Panasonic Toyota Racing was in soggy Belgium on a weekend where predictions went out the window and gambles replaced commonsense.

Spa-Francorchamps Report  – If, If, If

 

Let it rain, Let it rain, Let it rain!

 

Quiet possibly no other country comes close to the climate which welcomed Belgium during the Grand Prix weekend. On Friday the monsoon conditions washed out free practice, meaning Panasonic Toyota Racing drivers Ricardo Zonta, Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher only completed limited laps in the morning and opted for a game of indoor football in the afternoon. Its hard to believe that a car which cost a million pounds to build and design, is scared off by one of natures most frightful and hair razing species; rain.

 

Thankfully Saturday was a better day for hanging the washing out, with the track drying in the morning. Thus the fastest times in the first session were set in the dying minutes. Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli completed a handful of laps to go ninth and eleventh quickest, which would be improved upon during the final session seeing Jarno third and Ralf sixth. Importantly the team were ahead of B.A.R Honda, and mixing it in with the McLaren’s and Renaults at the sharp end. Ferrari were nowhere to be seen, so a possible leap in front of Ferrari in the constructors championship looked likely, that is, if the weather worked in Michelins favour.

 

Fast Fagues

 

Qualifying became entertaining once the Toyota boys ventured out onto the race track. Ralf Schumacher put in a decent lap to go fastest for provisional pole position just as the sky opened to drop a handful of rain. As Jarno Trulli (next man out) exited the pit lane, the rain cleared allowing Jarno to complete one of his all time greatest laps. Running on a wet set-up, the Italian murdered the second sector of the lap, going almost a second faster than anybody else, taking amazing speed and bravery around Spa’s Fague Chicane. At the end of the lap, Jarno was on provisional pole, yet the next three runners would all improve over his time, forcing Jarno down to fourth, although moving him back up to third as Giancarlo Fisichella had to take a ten place drop for changing his engine. So Jarno ended up a deserving third on the grid, with Ralf just behind in fifth, a strong result was expected in 24 hours time.  

 

The 3 If’s;

 

It wouldn’t be Grand Prix day in Spa if the rain hadn’t woken everybody up in the morning, because it did. Luckily the race would start on a damp track and remain like this throughout with the key tyre being the intermediates. Sadly during the race Toyota came across a couple of dilemmas, in other words, 3 if’s;

 

If 1: If during Jarno Trulli’s pit stop, the team had kept him on intermediates and not changed him onto slicks on what was still a damp track, would he had finished on the podium?

 

If 2: If Ralf Schumacher was kept on the intermediate tyre and not changed to the slick on a similarly damp track, would he had finished on the podium?

 

If 3: If Ralf Schumacher had remained on the intermediate tyre, and with Juan Pablo Montoya retiring near the end of the Grand Prix, would Ralf had won?

 

The answers we’ll never know, but is a cause for much debate. Mistakes were made on a day, which really should have seen Toyota come away with a podium, even a possible one-two was on the cards. But the team were taking risk’s on tyres which could had made them hero’s or zero’s, sadly it made them zero’s. I can understand Toyota’s aim to win, but putting your car in a risky position where a podium is yours for the taking isn’t really worth the risk. Toyota are battling with Ferrari in the constructors championship, and the possible 18 points up for grabs were thrown out of the window the moment those slicks came out onto the pit-lane. Hopefully lessons have been left, as I can see the meeting on Monday morning being a frustrating, figure pointing one, instead of one of celebration.

 

Toyota came away with two useful points, but it should have been more. Jarno Trulli crashed out towards the end after a confrontation with Tiago Monteiro’s Jordan, ending a miserable day for the Italian. But Ralf Schumacher did come home a creditable seventh and the fastest lap of the race, proof still that Toyota are a team on the up.

 

The Spanish Job

 

Fernando Alonso just needed four points and Kimi Räikkönen to retire for the young Spaniard to become Formula One’s youngest champion. But McLaren gave Kimi a quick and reliable car, in fact McLaren had a quick and reliable car and were odds on for a one-two finish until, yes you’ve guess it, Montoya mucked up the party. With just a couple of laps to go, Montoya got involved with Pizzonia's lapped BMW Williams, sending both cars into retirement. This cost Kimi’s championship two points as Alonso would finish second with Button a deserving third. Alonso just has to finish races now to become World Champion, whilst Kimi needs to win races and get his dog of a teammate to finish behind them if he’s to stand any chance.

 

That’s it Europe, we’re out of here!

 

Spa-Francorchamps didn’t give Toyota that European ending they were looking for, but there are still three races to go. Next stop is in Brazil where we expect the TF105B to make its debut, giving Toyota a little extra push before the season comes to a close.

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