Thursday: Toyota faces difficulties with tires

Toyota did not encounter any major issues today, but had to deal with excessively fast tire degradation. The TF109 appears to use up more rubber than usual here, causing a time loss while studying the phenomenon and thus losing performance.

In the end, this morning the two Toyotas were at the bottom of the rankings and showed slight improvement in the afternoon. However, tomorrow’s rest day should be useful for the engineers, and the Japanese team ends the day with a baffling optimism. Like a warning to the competitors, Toyota should be ready by Saturday!

Jarno Trulli – 20th and 14th:

« We did our normal and usual first-day work, trying to improve the car’s balance. The track was dirty and slippery this morning, and then this afternoon, I experienced some issues with the tires and unusual degradation. We need to study the problem and find a solution. Here in Monaco, we traditionally have an extra day to study the data. Tomorrow will not be a day off… »

Timo Glock – 19th and 18th:

« It was not an easy day for me. We experienced several mechanical and aerodynamic problems and spent more time than expected studying the behavior of the tires… So, it’s hard to say exactly where we are currently. In terms of lap times, it’s not good, we need to learn from the tires and quickly get the best out of the car. It will be difficult, but with the information we have, we can improve for the qualifying. »

Dieter Gass – Sporting Director:

« We had a busy day, completing most of the laps without major issues on the car. We spent the first session primarily studying new elements and the second on tire behavior. They seem to be worse than expected on long stints, so we need to think about improving their degradation. Concerning the lap times, I am a bit disappointed because we set our best times very early in the session, and due to tire issues, we didn’t improve. However, here more than elsewhere, the track evolves very quickly, and we could have been better placed. We have work to do tonight, but also tomorrow, and we will arrive on Saturday and Sunday with our best settings. »