Formula One news

Toyota unable to score points

The Toyota team left Spa-Francorchamps disappointed today after Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli finished 10th and 11th respectively in the Belgian Grand Prix, the final European race of the season.

Both drivers started in the top 10, with Jarno in 8th, two places in front of Ralf, but the order changed on the run to the first corner. Jarno lost places in the run to the tight La Source hairpin, including a spot to Ralf, but battled on in the midfield traffic before his first pit stop on lap 14, when he changed to the soft Bridgestone Potenza tyres. Ralf worked his way into the points positions before he switched to the soft tyres at the end of lap 20.

As the differing strategies played out, Jarno made progress up the field and resumed in 11th after his final pit stop on lap 32. A one-stop strategy helped Ralf fight in the top 10 but, despite his good pace in the closing stages, he missed out on the points and finished just ahead of Jarno. The next engagement is a test at Jerez in Spain, starting on Tuesday, where the team will step up preparations for the Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway.

Ralf Schumacher commented on his race today: "The race was okay. I did my best and I think we got the best out of the car, but unfortunately it was not quite enough for any points. Looking at it from that perspective, it is frustrating because we pushed the car to the limit and we hoped for more after our competitive pace in practice. On Friday it looked promising but we lost out compared to the other teams and now we need to look at the reasons for that."

Jarno Trulli said about his race: "That was a difficult afternoon for me. At the first corner I lost a few places because I had to brake and go on the outside after another car braked late. There was nothing I could do. I fell behind other cars who had more fuel on board and were much slower than me, but it was not possible to overtake because we didn't have the straightline speed. I expected more from the race and if you look at the performance of the car when I was not in traffic, we were quite competitive and I was happy with the balance."

more news

• 24 Jul.
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  • Photos: Thursday in Jerez
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• 23 Jul.
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  • Vettel gets to grips with slicks
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  • BMW mechanic kept in hospital overnight
  • Photos: Wednesday in Jerez
  • Q&A with Timo Glock
• 22 Jul.
  • Toyota spends day running slicks
  • Grosjean back in action for Renault
  • Vettel sets pace at Jerez
  • 'Shocked' mechanic ends BMW's day at Jerez
  • Renault still targets fourth
  • Photos: Tuesday in Jerez
  • Hamilton on his German Grand Prix win
  • Testing gets under way at Jerez
  • Ferrari boss confused by Kimi's lack of pace
• 21 Jul.
  • Ferrari boss reflects on tough race
  • Glock leaves hospital
  • Mercedes enjoys Hamilton's victory
  • McLaren boss explains strategy call
  • Symonds grateful to lady luck
• 20 Jul.
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  • Not a good day at Ferrari
  • Glock to stay in hospital overnight
  • Piquet comes good for Renault
  • Both BMWs bring home points
  • No joy for Force India
  • Pointless afternoon for Williams
  • Honda hoped for more in Germany
  • Vettel takes another point for Toro Rosso
  • Disappointing day for Red Bull
  • Glock unhurt in Toyota's pointless race
  • Victorious Hamilton would have preferred easy ride
  • Hamilton storms to victory at Hockenheim
  • Photos: Sunday in Hockenheim

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