Amazing qualifying session for Toyota
The final qualifying session of the 2008 season went very well for Toyota. Jarno Trulli placed his TF108 second on the Brazilian grid while team mate Timo Glock will start the race at Interlagos from 10th place.
Jarno Trulli (Car 11, Chassis TF108-05)
Summary: Made the front row with a stunning drive PROVISIONAL GRID: 2nd
FP3 10th Best Lap Time: 1m 12.457s (+0.316s) Laps: 19
Q1 6th Best Lap Time: 1m 12.226s (+0.396s) Laps: 3
Q2 10th Best Lap Time: 1m 12.107s (+0.339s) Laps: 6
Q3 2nd Best Lap Time: 1m 12.737s (+0.369s) Laps: 6
"Before coming here I knew this was one of those difficult, technical tracks where I could be strong and my car could be very competitive. So I have been preparing and waiting for this grand prix and now here I am. We have been competitive all weekend and I played my cards during qualifying, saving my tyres and getting ready for Q3. In the end I put in a really good lap. It's ironic because for the first time in my career I thought I might not make it on Friday because I was feeling really ill with flu. So after this result I have to thank the whole team for the job - the mechanics, the engineers and also to the doctor. I am really happy for everyone and this shows the progress we have made this season. Now we hope to finish on a high."
Timo Glock (Car 12, Chassis TF108-07)
Summary: Made it safely into Q3 and row five PROVISIONAL GRID: 10th
FP3 13th Best Lap Time: 1m 12.712s (+0.571s) Laps: 22
Q1 5th Best Lap Time: 1m 12.223s (+0.393s) Laps: 9
Q2 5th Best Lap Time: 1m 11.909s (+0.141s) Laps: 9
Q3 10th Best Lap Time: 1m 14.230s (+1.862s) Laps: 6
"We worked hard today to improve the set-up after the problems we had yesterday. In the end we found a decent balance this afternoon. During Q2 I found a good rhythm and the car felt quick. I made it under 1m 12s on my penultimate run but at the end of the session we went out again on a set of options. In hindsight we could have saved those tyres for Q3, which might have helped. The top ten is not bad but we could have achieved slightly more."
Pascal Vasselon, Senior General Manager Chassis: "Clearly we are delighted by the outcome of qualifying. For Jarno things went exactly as expected. We had several indications throughout the weekend that he was very comfortable and quick here. Then he did a very strong performance so congratulations to him. He was caught out by a gust of wind in the second outing in Q2 but the first outing was good enough. For Timo things went even better than expected. He was struggling more with the balance of the car yesterday but today he was able to put everything together when it mattered. The two cars are obviously on different strategies, which considering the unstable weather predicted for tomorrow should put the team in a strong position. The tyre situation is challenging as this circuit is severe for tyres but we feel that we will be able to handle both compounds well. So now we are looking forward very much to an exciting race to finish the season."
