Australian GP - Toyota - PracticeToyota got themselves off to a solid start today in Melbourne with
Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock ending the afternoon session with the seventh and tenth fastest times respectively. A spin late in the session ended Trulli's day.
Today's
TF108 is the specification tested in Barcelona last month, featuring revised bodywork and mechanical improvements from the car rolled out in January.
Jarno Trulli"That was a difficult day because we have been trying to balance the car while fighting a bit with tyre graining. We tried some things to improve it but I'm not satisfied with the balance yet. I ended up in the gravel because I touched the grass near the end of the second session. Now I just hope we can have a better day tomorrow. We've made some good progress over the winter time and the testing we have done in Europe has been positive. The car seems more competitive, especially in race conditions, so I'm optimistic heading into the first grand prix of the season."
Timo Glock
"This was my first day of running here in Australia and my first free practice session for Toyota so it was completely different to what I'm used to in GP2 and testing. So it was an unusual situation but overall it felt okay. It is still difficult for me in terms of getting the car right for my driving style.
But we are continuously improving and today felt better than the last test so I can start to get a better feeling for the car. The last run wasn't too bad but I think everyone will be complaining about graining and it is the same for us."
Dieter Gass, Chief Engineer Race and Test
"Overall it was a positive day for us but the sessions did not go without problems. It was a pity that Jarno spun because he was on a long run and we were collecting tyre data. We also had a problem with a wheel bearing on Timo's car this morning which is why he had to stop slightly early."
"Still, we can be quite satisfied with how the car behaved. It's hard to comment on how the cars line up because, as usual in Melbourne, the circuit was developing throughout the day as rubber went down. People were obviously running on different fuel levels so it will be hard to analyse today's timesheets. But I'm not expecting too many issues with the heat because everyone was prepared for similar conditions in Malaysia next week anyway."
Source: Toyota
