Toyota Car Set for Major Revamp
Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher's chances of grabbing a maiden victory for Toyota are set to receive a major boost at the San Marino Grand Prix, with the Cologne-based team planning a major revamp of the TF105, Autosport-Atlas can reveal
Trulli has been one of the big surprises of the season after grabbing Toyota's first two Formula One podiums with second place in Malaysia and Bahrain, and the team are now planning a big overhaul of their car for the next race of the season.
The team are due to try out a new front wing, rear wing, diffuser and modifications to the sidepods at this week's Formula One test at Barcelona in Spain, and if the parts prove to be the step forward then they will be on the car for Imola.
Trulli, who currently lies second in the Drivers' Championship behind Fernando Alonso, believes that one of the key improvements the team need to make is in ensuring that the TF105 is kinder to its rear tyres over a full race distance - which means dialing in more understeer and improving its traction.
"We seem pretty good on tyres, especially wear," said Trulli after the Bahrain Grand Prix. "We have a lot of new things coming up for this car and we hope that we can make the car slightly more understeering with a bit more traction and, you know, we are going in the right direction and this is the most important thing."
And although Toyota's car chiefs are overjoyed with the team's current form in F1, Trulli made it clear after his second successive runners-up spot in Bahrain that he is not happy to keep finishing second.
"Just after the race I went to the team and said we need to push and continue like this," he said. "We need to keep the momentum but we need to improve our performance because I am getting tired of this side (of the podium) and I want to be on the first part of the podium."
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Teams | Toyota Racing |
| Author | Jonathan Noble |
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