Australia: Toyota drivers fired up down under

By Nick Sparkes
March 30 2006

Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli head down under for this weekends Australian Grand Prix. After an intense couple of days testing, the whole Toyota team will face their first true test if they are to return to the front of the grid. Neithertheless, both drivers are looking forward to the challenge.

After the team testing a range of new and old tyres, their real test starts this weekend when the team will put the improvements they made last week, onto the racetrack. Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli, who both tested last week, are looking forward to the Albert Park circuit.

“Heating up the tyres has been a problem for us, so Australia will show us how far we've come.” Said Ralf, “It is not usually particularly warm there and this race is taking place later than usual in their autumn. Because it is a street circuit, the track surface at Melbourne's Albert Park track tends to be dirty, so it could be hard to find grip, especially in the first lap of qualifying. But I do like the circuit – it is one of the most beautiful street circuits there is and also among the safest.” But Ralf is looking forward to the challenge ahead; “The city itself is also one of my favourites on the calendar, so it all combines to make the Australian Grand Prix an exciting event. A difficult weekend awaits but I hope we can continue to push hard and use the data that we have collected so far this year to help pushing up the grid."

Teammate Jarno Trulli is also looking forward to a circuit he enjoys; "Melbourne is a fantastic venue for F1 and the atmosphere is always great. I normally arrive early to put in some training outdoors but this year both Ralf and I returned to Europe last week to test the TF106 at Paul Ricard. I enjoy driving at Albert Park, especially the quick chicane at Turns 11 and 12. The track can be quite bumpy and you need a lot of grip and traction, particularly in the slow corners like Jones, Clark, Ascari and Prost.” But Jarno knows this weekend isn’t going to be easy; “Given our problems with warming up our tyres in Bahrain the cool weather could be difficult for us but we will use the weekend to understand more about how to make improvements to how our car works with our tyres. There is no question about the motivation of the whole team to get back to the level where we can race at the front of the grid."