11/09/2009
NEWS STORY
Panasonic Toyota Racing completed the first two practice sessions for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza today. This weekend's race marks the final Grand Prix in Europe in 2009 and is also a home race for Jarno Trulli. The unique demands of Monza, which is the fastest circuit on the calendar, meant both Jarno and Timo Glock had new low-downforce aerodynamic items to test today. These included circuit-specific revisions to the front and rear wings. They both completed their programmes on a sunny day, in which air temperatures reached 28°C and track temperatures 41°C. The morning session saw both drivers complete a series of set-up comparisons on the medium compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres while further set-up fine-tuning was carried out in the afternoon. During that session Jarno and Timo also tested the soft compound tyres, gathering data which will allow the team to effectively plan its strategy for the weekend.
Jarno Trulli: "That was a typical Friday for me and it went smoothly with no problems. As usual we tested the two different tyres and also worked on setting up the car. We made some improvements from first practice so in the afternoon I was happier with the car. We still have some work to do to improve and get the best out of it around this track so we will look at all the data to improve the set-up for qualifying. Today we also experienced the new kerbs at the chicanes for the first time and these seem to be okay; I had no problem with them. It's nice to be back in Italy, driving in front of my home fans, and I just hope I can do a good race on Sunday."
Timo Glock: "It was a reasonably good second practice. It was tougher in the morning but we made some changes to the set-up and in the afternoon the car felt better overall. We got more performance from the car and got through our normal programme with no issues. The car feels pretty good but of course we need to work on improving our lap times again. If we can find the right aero balance I think we will be okay here. The new kerbs are fine; they are different to last year but still acceptable. The weather was also quite a bit different to last year's rain and that was definitely an improvement."
Dieter Gass, Chief Engineer Race and Test: "Monza is always a very particular circuit to race on but due to the lack of testing this year the difference compared to other tracks seems to be even bigger. You have the usual problems of trying to get used to running much lower downforce, which obviously means you are lacking grip compared to your baseline configuration. We had a decent day and went through our programme which has given us plenty of information to work with so we will continue working on the car balance prior to qualifying. In terms of tyres, the medium and soft compounds seem to behave pretty much as expected so we don't expect any major issues as both appear to be reasonable."