Wonderful race for Toyota as both drivers are in the points
It was a wonderful day for the Toyota team at Montreal today as both their drivers were able to take home points after the Canadian Grand Prix. Timo Glock was able to hold off Felipe Massa and finished 4th, team mate Jarno Trulli came in 6th position.
Timo Glock (Car 12, Chassis TF108-06)
Summary: Scored his first points finish for Toyota after a fine performance. Starting 11th, he dropped three paces at the start. He moved up to 7th during safety car period and led the race at the end of his long first stint. Late on he held off Massa for a well-earned 4th place, his best ever result in F1.
Race Classification: 4th (+42.627s)
Qualifying Classification: 11th Lap Time: 1m 18.031s (+0.997s in Q2) Grid: 11th
"This is a fantastic day, and I'm delighted to take my first points of the year. I lost three places at the start, leaving me behind Jarno. I was quicker but when I got close enough I destroyed my rear tyres. So I did my best to preserve them because I knew I was on a longer first stint and I was able to get by at the pit stop. After that it was really tricky to keep the car on the track in these conditions. I made one mistake and caused Jarno to lose a place, which is a pity. But then I tried to stay in front of Massa and not make any mistakes. The result is great for the team, great for my crew, the mechanics and the engineers who have done a perfect job in the last few weeks. I dedicate the points to them."
Jarno Trulli (Car 11, Chassis TF108-05)
Summary: From 14th on the grid, Jarno gained a place early on before moving up to 6th during the safety car period. On a one-stop strategy, he led the race during his long first stint. Rejoining 12th, he made up ground to finish with three points for 6th place.
Race Classification: 6th (+47.775s)
Qualifying Classification: 14th Lap Time: 1m 18.327s (+1.293s in Q2) Grid: 14th
"This was a very good result for the whole team so I am very happy. We knew this would be a hard race and I just wanted to bring the car home because I wasn't feeling confident. The biggest mistake I made was before qualifying when I changed the set-up and suddenly I found myself qualifying with completely different track conditions. That cost me because I was unable to push as hard as I wanted. Towards the end of the race I had some trouble with the brakes. Then I was unfortunate that Timo made a small mistake late on. When he came back on the track I had to lift off and Massa got past. Still, in the end it's great to score points and I am happy for everyone."
Tadashi Yamashina, Team Principal: "This is a wonderful day for everyone involved with the team - from the race team to the test team to everyone working at the factory. I hope they can all enjoy this kind of moment. Before this race we opted for a very long one-stop strategy because we knew the likelihood of safety cars was very high here. That gave us the opportunity to be flexible when such problems arrived. The drivers and the pit crew all followed that strategy to the letter. With these very challenging track conditions the most important thing was for the two drivers to stay on the road. They both did that and more. On the last lap Timo drove very hard and managed to hold off Massa. That was a very valuable drive and a very valuable performance by him. This is an important haul of points and we are so happy. We will now do our best to keep up this momentum at the next race."
What's Next?
Toyota has a three-day test scheduled to start on Thursday 12 June at Barcelona. The team will return to racing in a fortnight at the French Grand Prix.
