Q+A Luca Marmorini
After the punishing double-header to kick off the 2006 season, the Formula 1 world now travels to the other side of the world for round three. The Panasonic Toyota Racing Team is hoping for more after 2 disappointing races, in Bahrain and Malaysia, where the team only scored 1 point. Here follows an interview with Luca Marmorini, Technical Director Engine.
Interview with Luca Marmorini
Ralf scored a point in Malaysia but also suffered an engine failure in qualifying. What happened?"I was very disappointed because it was not a typical failure coming from an internal part of the engine like a piston or a connecting rod, it was just a small shaft that drives the oil pump. This part we carried over from the old engine and it is something we have used for three years. It was a shame because although Ralf was quick enough to get into the top 10 run-off there was still a margin for him to improve. But we are not worried about the failure because it is not something that should happen again. When the shaft broke, the engine stayed at full revs for a few seconds without any oil, and so you can imagine what was inside!"
Did you have any concerns about Jarno's car?"No, because we had tested to that mileage. As an engine man, on the one hand you want to limit the mileage but on the other it is good to go longer distances because then you know you can do more running on Fridays, which helps the team with set-up."
What about the logistics for Melbourne?"We ship engines to Melbourne a couple of days after Malaysia and although there is no reaction time from the engine point of view, if we find that the small shaft that failed was part of a rogue batch, it can be easily changed and does not require us to open the engine. But if we had discovered we had a major problem, like a connecting rod or piston, there would have been no chance to do anything before Melbourne. We consider the first three races as one. And then, of course, Imola is involved as well because that is the second race for a Melbourne engine."
Is Melbourne a tough circuit?"From an engine point of view it is not a particularly challenging track. In the past it was seen as difficult just because it was the first race. From our point of view, to be able to understand the tyres may not be so easy because Melbourne can have quite a lot of changing temperatures and environmental conditions, which makes it more difficult to get the tyre choice right."
