Friday: Good positions despite problems for Toyota

Improvements are within reach for the Toyota team after a few races where underperformance was evident. It is not, however, a frenzy, but there are signs of progress as shown by Jarno Trulli’s 6th and 8th place standings for the day. Nevertheless, the Italian wasn’t spared from mechanical problems, so these are good lap times.

Unlike Timo Glock, who didn’t have any issues but posted more modest times like 14th and 10th in the two sessions. It seems that Trulli is adopting his teammate’s setup.

Jarno Trulli – 6th and 8th:

« It was a difficult day for me, and I had a bit of trouble driving the car. It’s disappointing not to have been able to do all the work we had planned for the second practice session because of this problem. The team did an excellent job making this car so fast. It’s not easy to say where we stand in terms of competitiveness or setup, because we didn’t drive enough. The track evolved during the day, as expected, and by the end of the second session, there was much more grip than in the morning. Now, it’s important to make the best use of tomorrow’s session to be prepared for qualifying. »

Timo Glock – 14th and 10th:

« Today was a positive day for me and for the entire team. I am happy with our position at this stage of the weekend compared to the Nurburgring. The car is quite good, especially in the second test session when the track had more grip. This morning, there was much less grip or during the first laps of the afternoon. To be honest, it was a bit complicated, but it improved later on. I am therefore satisfied with how things went for me, but of course, we still have work to do to improve the setup. We have made a step forward and I hope for a good qualifying tomorrow. »

Dieter Gass – Chief Race and Test Engineer:

« As usual here in Hungary, the track initially had little grip, but this improved significantly over the sessions. We had some temperature issues on Jarno [Trulli]’s car in the afternoon, which led him to stop on track. His morning session saw other problems; we needed to change some components, which cost us some time. So, he lost a bit of driving time and is therefore a little behind in his program. Timo [Glock] had a good day without any issues; we will transfer some of his information to Jarno’s car. It is interesting to see how close the field is today, with almost everyone within one second. It will be very important tomorrow to focus everything on qualifying. »