29th
October 2002
Jarno on
the new rule changes…..
Information from La
Gazzetta dello Sport
Trulli, who serves with Schumacher as one of
three driver representatives to the governing FIA, said he had hoped more laps would
be allowed in Friday's qualifying session but agreed it would improve the show
for spectators.
"It's also right to reduce the gap
between first and second," he said. "Four points was too much."
Michael Schumacher regretted the decision by teams to axe the
Belgian Grand Prix from the calendar as a result of local legislation banning
tobacco advertising: "I find it naturally sad that Spa is no longer on the
calendar because the track is associated with many fond memories.”
While his brother Ralf at Williams has said
he will not miss Spa, Fisichella and Trulli disagreed.
"It's a real shame to have lost it
because it was one of the most beautiful circuits," Trulli told the
Gazzetta.
28th
October 2002
Jarno on holiday! After watching his Trulli Kart team
take 3rd place in the CIK-FIA World Karting Championships in Italy at the weekend,
Jarno is now on holiday in the South of France. He will be attending a Renault
F1 training camp at Flavio Briatore’s ranch in Kenya from 16th – 25th
November. On 26th November, Renault F1 begin testing, for 2003, in
Valencia.
Renault F1 Test Dates:
Valencia : 26th –
28th November
Barcelona: 3rd –
5th December
Jerez: 10th – 14th
December
13th
October 2002
japanese gp. race.
This became a dream race for Jordan’s
Takuma Sato in his first home Grand Prix. After his best qualifying of the
season, he drove home in 5th place to score his first points and
help Jordan to
6th place in the Championship. He inherited an extra place after Jarno was forced to retire with mechanical
problems on lap 32. This also elevated Jarno’s team mate Jenson Button to 6th place. Until
then, Jarno
was running a strong race, making up 3 places at the start, including
overtaking Jenson at
Turn 2. Jarno was
immediately behind Sato
at that point, with Jenson
following. The team brought forward their first pitstops, as they felt Sato was holding them up. Jenson was called in first for his second stop,
but before Jarno
could stop again, with the mechanics already in the pitlane, he stopped for
good when the car failed out on the track. Meanwhile, Coulthard only managed a few laps before he
retired with electrical problems. Massa, in his last race for Sauber, crashed into the tyre wall on lap 4. Allan McNish had never started the race at
all, on medical advice after yesterday’s crash in qualifying, even though he
seemed fine in the warm up. Panis, in his last race for BAR before joining Toyota, had problems from the start and visited the pits several times before
retiring for good. Yoong had
a spin and finished in the gravel. Villeneuve and Fisichella both had
spectacular engine failures (those Hondas sure know how to blow!). De la Rosa also had mechanical failure, and 5 laps from the end, Ralf Schumacher’s BMW engine gave up as
well. Montoya carried
on to 4th place with the demise of Ralf, which also promoted Kimi Raikkonen to third. First was
Mr “I won 11 in a season” Schumacher, followed by his close friend Rubens
Barrichello. Michael slowed down to allow Rubens to close the gap, but wasn’t going to let
him take the glory this time! Top 6: M. Schumacher,
Barrichello, Raikkonen, Montoya, Sato, Button.
Chassis R202-01 Spare car (JB)
R202-05 Jarno Trulli
R202-06 Jenson Button
Today, at the final race of the season in
Suzuka, Japan, the Renault F1 Team sealed its early season promise of fourth place in
the Constructors’
Championship. The team added
one point to its Championship standings to finish with a final score of 23,
after a strong sixth-place finish from Jenson Button. Unfortunately, the race also saw the retirement of Jarno Trulli on lap 32, due to a
mechanical problem.
Jenson Button, 6th position:
“It’s great to get a point for the team and myself. It has been an up and
down season, but has been good for my experience. It has been fun working with
the team and I wish them all the best for next year.”
Jarno Trulli, DNF:
“Unfortunately it has been an unlucky weekend for me here in Suzuka - especially after the car looked so
promising after qualifying yesterday. Through the start of the race the car was
performing well, with good lap times. Just before my second pit-stop I
experienced a mechanical problem. We haven’t yet been able to get to the bottom
of it yet. Even though I didn’t finish the
race, I am happy for Jenson, as he drove a good race to get sixth. Jenson has been a good team mate and we have
worked well together this season and I wish him well for next year.”
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director, Renault F1 Team:
“It was a good way to conclude this season. We are satisfied because we
have fulfilled our objective for this year by securing fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship. However, we are
still too far behind the top teams and we have to work very hard over the
winter to try and close the gap. I would like to thank the whole Team for their
dedication and commitment this season, our
main partner Japan Tobacco and all our sponsors for their continued
support. Special thanks to Jenson, who has done a great job and who will not be with us next season. We
sincerely wish him the best of luck and success for his future.”
Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director, Renault F1 Team:
“It is good to have a third consecutive point scoring race. We have
accomplished our aim of fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship, which is testimony
to all the hard work everyone at the team has put in. We now have to work hard
through the winter testing to start next season on a positive note.”
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering, Renault F1 Team:
“Today was a difficult race dictated by
our poor grid positions. In the first stint both drivers reported that the Jordan was holding them up, so we decided to
stop early. This worked and got Jarno and Jenson in
front of Sato.
Unfortunately for us, it appears that he made a few adjustments to his car in
the first pit-stop which improved his times. We were not able to keep track
position after the second stop, this coupled with losing time with the blue
flag, meant we weren’t able to re-challenge him again later in the race.
Nevertheless we finished the season in much better shape than last year and
finished with three point-scoring races in a row. Now we must look forward to
next season and to be able to regularly challenge for podium positions.”
12th
October 2002
japanese gp. qualifying.
Chassis R202-01 Spare car (JT)
R202-05 Jarno Trulli
R202-06 Jenson Button
After a dramatic session, marked by Alan McNish’s spectacular accident, from which
the Toyota
driver came out unscathed, the Renault F1 team concluded the final qualifying session of this season with Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli respectively in 10th and
11th position. Due to the accident, the session was interrupted for 1 hour
and 10 minutes.
Jenson Button, 10th position, 1 :33.429:
“A good qualifying for me, compared with the last two races, in Monza and Indianapolis. It’s great to be in the top ten again.
Everything has worked fine during the session and I could even have improved my
time. All my runs were clear but I made a slight mistake on my last one into
the chicane I got crossed up and went sideways, losing a bit of time there.
Fortunately I had made up
some of ground in the last sector.”
Jarno Trulli 11th position, 1 :33.547:
“I am quite disappointed with my qualifying today, after the weekend had
looked more promising. I had a good first part of the session, but after the
break (McNish’s
shunt) I just couldn’t keep up with the others, who in the meantime had got
quicker. Now, I just have to look ahead and do my best for tomorrow’s race.”
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering, Renault F1 Team:
“Today we felt we should have had both cars in the top ten. We were
confident enough in Jarno
to allow him only three runs in order to save the tyres for the race.
Unfortunately, during the two runs after the red flag, Jarno didn’t get a good lap and as a
consequence he dropped to 11th position, while the track was rapidly
improving. Jenson
had one run aborted by the red flag, but he managed to put in some strong runs
afterwards, reaching 10th position. He was extremely lucky because
during his last lap the telemetry showed there was a problem, however we
managed to get him across the line before stopping.”
Denis Chevrier, Head of Race Engineering (Engine), Renault F1 Team:
“Everything was promising until the red
flag. The morning was productive and we thought qualifying would bring us good
news, as we knew the top teams were improving. But tomorrow things may take the
right turn for us.”
12th
October 2002
japanese gp. saturday
practice.
The first session was dominated by Ferrari with their two drivers first and second.
The second session was dominated by Schumachers with Michael and Ralf in P1 & P2. Michael was ahead of his rival both times
though. The most exciting incident of the first session was Takuma Sato’s Honda engine expiring in
the closing minutes. The Renault drivers had a
reasonable first session, finishing 7th (Trulli) and 13th (Button).
Jarno was unable to
improve in the second session, finishing 14th, with Jenson moving up to 9th. Montoya had a spin but got the car back on
track, and Panis and Webber both had mechanical problems, stopping
on track. Overall top 6: M. Schumacher. R. Schumacher,
Raikkonen, Montoya, Coulthard, Barrichello.
11th
October 2002
japanese gp. friday practice.
Jacques Villeneuve’s
crash half way through the first session caused a red flag, after he left
debris all over the track. Immediately afterwards, team mate Panis stopped on track, but this
was due to him hitting the engine kill button by mistake after he slowed to
negotiate Villeneuve’s mess. Takuma Sato has a lot of support in his home GP, and was fastest early on, but soon
eclipsed by the usual suspects. In the first session, Trulli was 8th and Button 10th. The Ferraris were quickest, followed by
both McLarens
and then both Williams’. In the second session, it was Montoya’s turn to crash, also causing a red flag. A rare mechanical problem for Michael Schumacher
meant he had to sit out much of the session, allowing the McLarens to get the upper hand. The Renaults were 9th (Trulli) and 12th (Button). Overall Top 6: Raikkonen, Coulthard, Barrichello, Montoya, R.
Schumacher, M. Schumacher.
Chassis R202-01 Spare car (JT)
R202-05 Jarno Trulli
R202-06 Jenson Button
Jarno Trulli, 9th position, 37 laps, 1:36.529:
“It was a good first day for us. The session was productive as we tried
different car set-ups and tyre comparisons and we were able to complete our
programme without encountering any problems. Tomorrow, we will have to try and
get closer to the top teams. I am quite optimistic because we have a new
qualifying engine and we seem to be going in the right direction with the car
set-up.“
Jenson Button, 12th position, 37 laps, 1:37.014:
“A normal day for me. We worked on tyre evaluation and I was able to run
quite a lot of laps. Now we need to make few adjustments to the car and
hopefully tomorrow we will be in a position to qualify nearer to the leaders.”
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering, Renault F1 Team:
“Today we concentrated entirely on our race set-up, evaluating two types
of tyres. Although the result of the comparison was very close, we feel we now
know which way to go. In addition to the routine set-up work, even at this late
stage of the season, we have been able to evaluate changes to the car
specifications, with very satisfactory results”
Denis Chevrier, Head of Race Engineering (Engine), Renault F1 Team:
“We had a trouble-free Friday session. We
made slight adjustments on the mapping and calibration of the engines. In
respect to the competitors, I think we seem to be in reasonable shape, even
though it’s difficult to know the amount of fuel they have. We are quite
confident for tomorrow, as we will have a new spec of engine, which is a better
qualifying engine than the one we had in Indianapolis.”
7th
October 2002
japanese g.p. preview
After a second consecutive points-scoring
finish at Indianapolis, Renault F1 Team driver Jarno Trulli is looking to continue his late-season
momentum in the forthcoming Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka:
Jarno Trulli:
“The points from the last races speak for
themselves. It feels like the whole Team is really starting to gel. It took me
some time to understand how the Team worked, and how best to work with my
engineers, but we are doing a really great job now. We have managed to balance
the car well at the last races and everybody can see the result. Suzuka is a wonderful circuit: very technical, and
definitely a place I enjoy a lot. It’s among the most challenging of all the
tracks we visit.”
Jenson Button:
“Suzuka is a very tough track, and especially in the race. You have to be at
100% throughout physically but also mentally. Every corner is a challenge, and
each one is important. Mentally, I think Suzuka is probably the most difficult circuit of all.”
After the glitzy showmanship of Indianapolis, Japan might initially appear to be a slightly
more low-key end to the season. However, the passionate local crowd reserves a
special, distinctive welcome for the F1 drivers:
Jenson Button:
“The fans are incredible! I know Japan is the Land of the Rising Sun, but it is the only
place where I cannot actually see the sun as I’m driving into the circuit–
there are so many fans, and they all get so close to the car, that they
actually block out the light! They are there looking for an autograph: it’s a
pretty surreal experience!”
Jarno Trulli:
“Some of my best memories come from Suzuka. Every year, my Japanese fan club holds a party for me and I visit it every time: it’s a
fun evening where I can spend time with some of the supporters. This is one of
my favourite races.”
However, the attraction of the Japanese race is not restricted to the enthusiastic support.
Out on the track, the drivers are confronted by one of the most testing
challenges in motor racing, particularly the sequence of “esses” behind the
pits (Turns 3 to 7). Jarno Trulli:
“What makes it so complicated and technical is the fact that every
corner has consequences for the next. From the first corner, you have to get it
right to get through all the rest: the line must be perfect. They are all
linked: it’s a bit like walking a tightrope where every move you make is
critical.”
Button elaborates on car set-up for the complex:
“You need a very quick change of direction
in the esses. Obviously, the balance needs to be right, but you can’t set the
car up too softly: sometimes you can get a rolling sensation when the car is
slow to react and grip, and that will cost you time. It’s part of the track
where you can make up time, but lose a lot as well.”
The Japanese Grand Prix will be Button’s final race for
the Renault F1 Team, and he is keen to score the points that
will cement his best-ever seventh position in the Championship while also
ending his two years with the Team on a high:
“Of course, it would be nice to get a
good result. It was tough at times, especially last year, but I’m looking to
score points for myself to finish seventh and for the Team.”
For Trulli, the final race will be the opportunity to round off an impressive
late-season run of results in style:
“We have had a good season - our aim was
for the Team to finish fourth in the Championship, and we have achieved that
target. Having said that, we are all looking forward and know that we can do
much better with every element of the package next
year.”
A lap of Suzuka with Jarno Trulli
Approaching Turn 1, I will be at the maximum speed that we generally see
at this circuit although it is slightly dependent on wind: this is typically
320kph. Turn 1 is very fast and I just drop to 5th gear, braking quite
lightly to take the corner at 250kph. Turn 2 requires much heavier braking as I
must go down to 3 rd and 150kph. Exiting Turn 2 leads me into the very tricky section behind
the pits which consists of a number of continuous left-right corners which
require a very smooth style and a
finely balanced car.
The first of these, Turn 3, is approached with very light braking as I
take it in 4th gear at 225kph. I am almost immediately turning right into Turn 4, again
with a light touch on the brakes to
slow to 185kph, before holding 4th gear for Turn 5, which is taken at
approximately 200kph. Turn 6 is a little trickier in that it is almost two
corners, which I take at approximately 170kph, this time in 3rd gear. Turn 7, the final corner in this sequence, is approached at 230kph
and I can actually turn into this corner without braking, just slightly
scrubbing speed to apex at 205kph in 4th gear.
Approaching Turn 8, I will get up to 290kph in top before having to
brake very hard and change back down to 4th gear to take the
corner at 210kph. Turn 9 is much tighter and I will take it in 2nd gear at approximately 130kph.
Passing under the bridge, I will approach the hairpin at 270kph in 5th
gear. Braking for this corner is quite difficult as I have to shed almost
200kph but as I enter the braking zone, there is still a lot of lateral force
on the car from the small kink that precedes the corner. The hairpin itself is
taken in 1st gear at 70kph.
Turn 12 is an extremely long corner but taken completely flat out. I
will enter it at 180kph in 3rd gear and exit at 295kph in top. The
loads are high enough that the car tends to bog down through the corner,
meaning the approach to Turn 13 will only see me at 300kph.
Turn 13 is 4th gear, 200kph which has an important exit in order to get the right line
for Turn 14, which I must take in 3rd gear at 150kph.
Approaching Turn 15, I should reach 315kph in top gear for this very
fast, quite bumpy corner that I will take at approximately 290kph.
Leading up to the chicane, my speed will have built up again to 385kph
before braking hard for this complex, both parts of which are taken in 1st gear at 65kph. I need to use the kerbs here and therefore require good
ride from the car.
The final corner is in fact flat and I accelerate through it, exiting at
approximately 270kph in 5th gear, crossing the line in top at around
310kph.