The first two races of the 2009 championship saw Toyota drivers Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock complete both events in good form, with each driver either stepping onto the podium or finishing just shy of it.In Australia, Trulli took third place while Glock claimed fourth, and at the following Grand Prix in Malaysia they exchanged positions.
Both tracks had very different characteristics; with the team taking positions three and four on both occasions, the Toyota TF109 displayed its adaptibility. The development rate over the season will have to be maintained, but the team has already proven it has built a podium contender.
With the Chinese Grand Prix taking place next week-end, the Toyota team's Senior General Manager Chassis, Pascal Vasselon, has identified two important aspects which he will carefully consider when setting up the car for the Shanghai circuit.
"Shanghai is a track which offers a very wide range of cornering speeds so you cannot optimise the car just for high-speed or low-speed corners; you have to find a good balance," indicated Vasselon.
"The unique aspect to the Shanghai track is its very long corners: turn 1 and turn 13," he explained. "It is extremely important to get the balance of the car right in turn 13 because it comes out onto the main straight and you want to exit at the highest possible speed."
"These two corners and the specific layout in general are also demanding on tyres so overall Shanghai is quite severe in terms of tyre wear. If you have a compound which is too soft it is likely to have graining issue."
"So it will be interesting to see how the super soft and medium compound tyres behave this weekend," Vasselon concluded.
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