Toyota: Technical analysis of the Turkish GP with Pascal Vasselon

Speaking of the race in Turkey, what does the Istanbul circuit expect from the car?
The Turkish circuit is average in terms of most issues, such as brakes, downforce and so on, with the exception of the long Turn Eight, which has to be taken to the left; It is a fundamental corner, as well as the most complicated of the season, because it has numerous implications in terms of car balance and tire wear. In fact it can be said that in Turkey the race is all about turn eight, and that it is one of the very few tracks where just one corner is so important. It is absolutely necessary to have a package capable of managing this curve, on the basis of which, for example, the choice of tires is also made.

This year the Turkish Grand Prix will be held earlier; Will lower temperatures cause problems?
In fact the temperatures will be slightly lower than in previous years, when the climate was particularly hot, but I think we will find conditions similar to those in Barcelona, ​​and therefore we probably won't encounter many problems. The differences will be noticed above all with regards to the internal temperature of the tires and the cooling of the engine; these were the areas that were subjected to the most stress when the Turkish Grand Prix was held in August.

What do you expect from this race?
In the first four Grands Prix we have seen that our car is competitive and capable of finishing in the top six positions. Unfortunately in Spain Jarno lost sixth place due to an unlucky case, but the fact that he was fighting in that position was still encouraging, so the objective this weekend is obviously to finish the race in the top places, possibly with both cars. So far Timo has shown that he can achieve good performances, but his excellent work has not been rewarded with equally satisfactory results: let's hope that his luck changes!

Will you present any technical developments at the Turkish Grand Prix?
We expect performance to improve thanks to another significant package upgrade from the same group of changes made in Barcelona. These improvements have not been specifically designed for Turkey, but this race is the first opportunity to introduce them.

So it's not actually a new package?
I would say that the definition of a new package is rather imprecise. At the beginning of the season, when the races take place on other continents, it is difficult to upgrade the car, both for logistical reasons and the impossibility of carrying out tests. Most of the changes were therefore introduced in Barcelona, ​​on the occasion of the first European race; the package adopted here is then continuously developed from an aerodynamic point of view, and any improvements, once verified, are mounted on the car as soon as possible, individually or combined with each other. The aerodynamic evolution of the basic package never stops; We set goals to achieve throughout the year, but any improvements are brought to the track as soon as we think they work.

When are new packages developed?
Specific packages are designed specifically for particular tracks, for example those of Monaco and Monza, which in terms of downforce are opposites and therefore require different packages, with new front and rear wings, a new bodywork and other measures that satisfy efficiency requirements very different from each other. But these packages are adopted exclusively on circuits that require specific performance from the car.

How do you make sure that individual upgrades improve the entire package when combined?
During the development phase, we must never forget that the parts will have to work together, and it is on this that we base the entire process of aerodynamic evolution, so that the coherence of subsequent modifications is guaranteed. It is a kind of cascade effect that defines the evolution of development throughout the year.

What do you think of the upgrades presented in Barcelona?
In Barcelona we brought decidedly advanced changes, in fact Jarno's performances in the race were quite good, but since they didn't live up to our expectations, we went back to work to optimize the package as much as possible.

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