Report: Second consecutive podium for Toyota

The Toyota team climbed onto the podium for the second consecutive race after Jarno Trulli delivered a superb performance at the Japanese Grand Prix. Just like his teammate in Singapore, Jarno Trulli matched Toyota’s best Formula 1 result and gave the team its fifth podium of the season. Trulli drove the only TF109 in the race today after Timo Glock sustained a leg injury due to an accident during Saturday’s qualifying.

Jarno Trulli started from second place with the hard tire specification, like the majority of the drivers except notably Lewis Hamilton and the Italian. He emerged from the early corners in third position behind the Briton. From there, he continuously put pressure on him and never fell more than 5 seconds behind the McLaren. Jarno Trulli nearly emerged from his first stop ahead of Hamilton when he mounted another set of hard tires. However, after constant aggressive driving and a good job by the Toyota mechanics during the stops, the Italian succeeded in his second attempt on the 39th lap. He then easily held his ground and even pulled away from Lewis Hamilton, who was hampered by a KERS failure. This podium allows Toyota to secure its fifth place in the constructors’ championship and get somewhat closer to McLaren and Ferrari.

Jarno Trulli – 2nd:

Being on the podium for the team’s home race gives a fantastic feeling and this great result is due to the whole team; the engineers, mechanics, and everyone, which includes Timo [Glock]. We have worked hard together and it’s a shame that Timo wasn’t able to drive today. The car, with the new package, was really competitive all weekend and I knew the start would probably be the most challenging part of today’s race. We got off to a solid start and I almost managed to keep my position, but Lewis [Hamilton] got past me and I battled with him throughout the race. I closed the gap and focused on doing qualifying laps all the time. It was fantastically fun and I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t so easy to attack so hard but I kept fighting and after the first pit stop, I was again closely chasing Lewis [Hamilton]. The question was only about putting as much pressure on him as possible and, thanks to the team for the strategy and the very quick pit stops, we got him (Lewis Hamilton) at the last stop. After that, I focused on pulling away and it was relatively calm, even with the safety car at the end. I want to thank the whole team. Here we are after Timo’s [Glock] magnificent second place in Singapore, and once again, the car was immediately competitive. I really hoped to win but it was the maximum we could achieve and I am extremely happy to be on the podium in Japan.

Josh Howett – President of Team Toyota:

« Jarno did a magnificent job with the only Toyota in the race. It’s great to get a result like this for our home Grand Prix. It’s unfortunate that Timo [Glock] couldn’t join the race because I’m sure he would have also achieved a solid result, but I’m happy about Jarno [Trulli]’s podium. The strategy worked perfectly, so thanks to the efforts of Jarno [Trulli] and the team. We passed Hamilton after the second stop. Two second places in a row demonstrate the team’s efforts, which have fought so hard throughout the season; they deserve these results. There are still two races left, so we need to immediately dive into preparation, and I hope that Timo [Glock] and Jarno [Trulli] will be on the podium again this season. »