15/06/2009
NEWS STORY
Panasonic Toyota Racing heads across the Channel this weekend for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the birthplace of the Formula 1 World Championship. Silverstone hosted the first World Championship Grand Prix in 1950 and also has a place in Toyota's Formula 1 history as the track where the team first led a race, in 2003. Last season's British Grand Prix was disrupted by rain but Jarno Trulli showed great determination and car control to take seventh place while Timo Glock was 12th. This year the team arrives in Great Britain with great confidence after a strong result in the Turkish Grand Prix enhanced its third place in the Constructors' Championship. As a high-speed circuit, Silverstone is expected to suit the TF109's considerable strengths so Jarno and Timo aim to fight for a podium return.
Jarno Trulli: "It was very satisfying to get back on track with our strong result in Turkey. I believe we belong at the front of the grid this year and it was important to bounce back and show how competitive we really are. The team has pushed hard with development and we must continue to do this to close the gap on the cars in front of us. I expect our car should go well at Silverstone as we have been very competitive on circuits with similar characteristics, so I am fired up to fight at the front again. Silverstone is a special place to race because of the passionate fans and the history surrounding the track. Personally I am not a huge fan of Silverstone and it hasn't always been kind to me, although I was one of the fastest cars last year in the wet. But it is an important circuit to Formula 1 and it will be a loss. If this is the last Grand Prix at Silverstone for a while, I hope I can leave there with some happy memories."
Timo Glock: "I am looking forward to the British Grand Prix and I think we have a great chance at Silverstone. It's an enjoyable place to race because the fans are so enthusiastic about Formula 1 and it's a really exciting lay-out. So it is a pity the Grand Prix is leaving Silverstone but then again new venues can be exciting too. The main feature of Silverstone is speed because there are some fantastic fast corners which are really good fun for a driver. This year I am particularly looking forward to this race because our car should be strong at this type of track. We were really competitive in Turkey with some new parts on the car and we expect to build on that this weekend. It was unfortunate my qualifying didn't go as planned in Istanbul because I could have been up with Jarno in the top six but I am really motivated to make sure everything goes to plan this weekend. The front of the grid is pretty close at the moment so if we get the maximum from our package then we can be battling with the fastest cars."
Pascal Vasselon, Senior General Manager Chassis: "We expect to be strong at the British Grand Prix because the lay-out should suit our package. So far this season we have been extremely competitive at tracks which require high aero efficiency so we have high hopes for Silverstone. With the exception of Monaco we have been strong at all tracks and Turkey was a return to form for us. Even though we are in the top three in terms of performance we are still missing a little in order to be systematically contending to win. That is our target and we are working hard to close the gap. We expect to build on our Turkish performance and deliver a genuinely competitive car this weekend."