Toyota introduce TF104B
Panasonic Toyota today introduced their new TF104B. The car had previously been shaken down during tests, but never had the new aero package been tested. Today's practice sessions were therefore important for the team and its drivers to see how the car behaves in its new configuration.
The new car is the first big creation of technical director Mike Gascoyne, who came over from Renault during the winter. He therefore had little or no influence in the core design of their TF104. Now with the B version, the team hopes to see an improvement of their performance, and hope to race for regular point finishes during the rest of the season.
The first session proved however to be rather difficult, but since it was the first time they drove with the new aero and pushed the car to its maximum, that is understandable.
The regular drivers agreed it was a difficult session, with Olivier Panis stating: "We opted to do our tyre comparison work in the first of today's practice sessions, before turning our attention to setting up the new TF104B car. As a result of this, we did not do any runs on new tyres in the second session, so the times are unrepresentative. Most of the updated aerodynamic parts have only been run for the first time today, so it is difficult to gauge our real performance."
Christiano Da Matta commented: "We had two difficult practice sessions today because it was the first time the new TF104B car has run in its full configuration. We have had to use today as more of a test session to work on the set-up and to try all the new parts. It is hard to condense everything we have to do into just two hours. Having said that, we have acquired a lot of data, which we have to analyse overnight and work hard for a better day tomorrow."
Mike Gascoyne - Technical Director Chassis: "With both race drivers, we opted to do our tyre comparison in the first session, which meant that we only ran on old tyres in the second practice. We should not read too much into the time differences between the TF104 and TF104B. We used the second hour effectively as a test session to improve the balance of the car and to improve the new aero package. We made good progress."
The new car sports new aerodynamic improvents such as a new diffuser, largely revised sidepods with new chimneys, a new nosecone, front wing and a mid-wing like at Ferrari.
Furthermore, the team is happy to see their engine evolute again. The Toyota engine department managed to get a stepup ready for this Grand Prix, while it was only planned for Monza, 3 GPs later. The engine represents a 2.5% power increase.
Technical specs and performance of the TF104B can be discussed on the forum
