Toyota's Race Engineers about Suzuka

The Panasonic Toyota Racing Team is looking forward to their home GP at the circuit of Suzuka, Japan. Jarno Trulli's Race Engineer, Ossi Oikarinen and Ralf Schumacher's Race Engineer, Francesco Nenci, talk about the upcoming Grand Prix and their expectations.

Ossi Oikarinen , Jarno Trulli’s Race Engineer “The season has had its ups and downs but overall it has been a positive season for everyone at Toyota. Finally it shows that the hard work we have put in since 2000 has paid off as we are getting somewhere. It’s obviously more motivating for everyone to come to races knowing you have a chance of competing well with the others. But having said that we still have a lot of work ahead and we have to keep pushing. The workload stays the same whether you’re finishing first or last.
The Japanese Grand Prix is one of our home races so there will be a lot of support for us there. I expect Toyota will get a special reaction now that the team has started to succeed and people are taking more notice of the team. The people who come to the race are obviously big F1 fans, but they are also very polite it’s easy for us to go there and work because no one gets in your way.
I like Suzuka, which is the kind of old-style circuit that I enjoy most. It’s challenging both for driving and for setting up the car. But we have to treat every circuit in the same way. You have to go in with the frame of mind that all circuits are equal and then see what you’ve achieved on Sunday evening.”

Francesco Nenci, Ralf Schumacher’s Race Engineer “I’ve been in a new position this year as Ralf’s race engineer, so for me the season has been very exciting. The improvement in our performances is obvious because now we are one of the leading teams, so that makes the racing even more exciting. Finally we can see the fruits of the efforts the team has put in and it shows we are heading in the right direction. We are coming to races to compete at a high level and to get results. It gives us good motivation to keep moving forward.
The Japanese Grand Prix is our home race so we expect a lot of support. The circuit is one of the most challenging circuits for both drivers and engineers because from a technical point of view you really have to work on the car there. Suzuka is one of the few circuits where a good result means you have a quick car and a quick driver. So we will be keen to get a result not only because it’s our home race but also to confirm the true level of our performance.
Usually when we travel we don’t get a chance to see much of the country because we tend to see the hotel and the circuit and nothing else. But last year I went to the MegaWeb so I had a bit of time to see Tokyo and Kyoto. I liked it a lot and I learned more about the mentality and the history of the country.”