Toyota very happy to be on podium in home race
Panasonic Toyota Racing stood on the podium for the second consecutive race following Jarno Trulli's brilliant runners-up finish in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. As his team-mate Timo Glock had done in Singapore last Sunday, Jarno again equalled the team's best Formula 1 result, taking his third and the team's fifth podium finish of the season.
He was the only TF109 on the grid as Timo was unable to start following his accident in qualifying yesterday, in which he suffered a cut leg. Jarno started the race from second on the hard compound Bridgestone Potenza tyre and came out of the first corner in third, behind Lewis Hamilton. From then on he pushed to the limit, always keeping second place in sight. He fell short of taking the position at his first pit stop, when he changed to another set of hard tyres. But more fast laps and exceptional work by the pit crew at his final stop, when he switched to the soft tyres, allowed him to take the position. He was comfortably pulling away when the safety car was brought out due to an accident on lap 45 but when racing resumed four laps later he held position and crossed the line in front of the team's home fans in a well-deserved second place.
Jarno Trulli: "Standing on the podium in the team's home Grand Prix is a fantastic feeling and this great result is down to the whole team; the engineers, mechanics and everyone, including Timo. We work really well together as part of a great team and it's a pity he wasn't able to race today. The car, with the new package, has been really competitive all weekend and I knew the start was likely to be the toughest point of the race. We made a strong start and I almost held my position, but Lewis got by and after that I spent the whole race fighting with him. I closed the gap and just focused on doing qualifying laps every time; it was fantastic fun and I really enjoyed it. It was not easy to push so hard but I kept fighting and after the first pit stops I was again chasing Lewis really closely. It was just a matter of putting as much pressure on as possible and, thanks to the team for the strategy and fast pit work, we got him at the last stop. From then on I pulled away and it was reasonably comfortable, even with the safety car at the end. I want to thank the team; we came here after Timo's great second place in Singapore and again the car was competitive immediately. I really hoped to win but this was the maximum we could achieve and I am extremely happy to be on the podium in Japan."
Tadashi Yamashina Team Principal "Jarno did a brilliant job today with the only Toyota in the race. It's great to get a result like this in our home Grand Prix; we really appreciate our partners and fans so I hope they enjoyed our performance. It's unfortunate Timo couldn't join him in the race because I am sure he would have also had a very strong result but I am very happy with Jarno's podium. The strategy worked perfectly so, thanks to the efforts of Jarno and the team, we got past Hamilton after the second pit stop. Two second places in a row is a credit to the team, who have fought so hard all through the season; they deserve this result. There are still two more races left so we will immediately begin preparations for those and I hope Timo and Jarno will again stand on the podium this season."
Jarno Trulli (Car 9, Chassis TF109-06)
Grid: 2nd
Race Classification: 2nd (+4.877s)
Pit Stop Laps: 16, 39
Timo Glock (Car 10)
Grid: Did not start
