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Ralf: "That was an exciting race for the public and a good one for me as well. I said yesterday that we could have a good race today and so it proved. I didn't make the best of starts and I found myself crowded out, but it is always like that in Hockenheim. From then on our strategy was excellent, including a long stint before the first pit stop. We could even have ended up one or two positions higher. Unfortunately when I came out of the pits after my first stop the tyres took a couple of laps to get my lap times back while I was struggling for grip. But three points is another good result. The team did a great job and we have to be happy with this result" Ralf qualifies 12th for Germany Ralf: Obviously it will be a hard race from where we are but the package should work well in race conditions so we'll be doing our best to break into the points again. Teams won't be punished The seven Formula One teams that withdrew from last month's U.S. GP citing tire problems were cleared of wrongdoing. Toyota run updated RVX-05 V10 Ralf: We’ve been struggling a bit in the last few races, but the package still has the potential to make it to a good points finish so we'll try and do that again on Sunday. Thurday Press Conference with Ralf When asked he says he hasn't read the new Harry Potter book yet. This is where the quotes below are from. Ralf defends drivers over safety meeting Ralf has defended the decision of some drivers to miss a safety meeting with the sport's governing body next month. The FIA said they were disappointed only 12 of the 20 drivers had agreed to attend the August 1 meeting. Ralf said he would be there but several other drivers had prior engagements. "Every driver has his own reasons. It's pretty clear that Juan Pablo would love to go home and have a break and in his case I would take the opportunity. For me, it doesn't matter to fly down there... we are a group of drivers so it doesn't need all of us to be down there. You don't need 20 people down there, that's pretty clear. We have agreed amongst us what we want and we have agreed what we should talk about and that should be fine even if there are just five or six of us so it doesn't really matter" The drivers want the same standards of safety for testing that exist for races. "We do more laps at tests than we ever do at a race meeting, so there are things that have to be addressed just to make sure... at tests there is the same danger of having a severe accident" German GP: Toyota preview Ralf: Hockenheim is my home Grand Prix so I would love to pick up another good result after my points in the last two races. I'm a fan of the revised track they introduced three years ago, so I'm looking forward to another race there. Toyota Jerez Test Summary (15 July) Ralf: I just wanted to run through some different options with my race engineer because due to the accident I had at Indianapolis I have not really been able to test for the last month or so. That's why I have taken full advantage of the last opportunity before the summer break and done a full three-day test. Q: Has it been successful? Ralf: Yes. It has been a really good test and we have worked through a lot of possibilities. Jerez: Ralf fastest (13th July) Toyota debuted the V8 engines that all teams will be required to use in 2006, suffering failures during the day. Read more about Toyota testing the V8 engine at itv-f1.com Olivier Panis, driving a hybrid TF105 fitted with the V8, lapped nearly five seconds slower than Ralf. Mike Gascoyne (technical director) said: We will have a V8 car in every test from now and we will have to see how the progress is. A single point for Toyota Ralf finished in eighth place at the British GP. Jarno Trulli finished in ninth place. Ralf: "After a tough race like that I have to be happy with a point today, although I wish it could have been more. I made a tyre choice which I hoped would have worked to my advantage, but it meant that I was struggling for grip and sliding around. That made it hard to keep the car on the road and to maintain consistent lap times. I also lost a position at the start, so that is why I am especially happy with my result, bringing home one point. Still, it's obvious that we have a lot of work to do and I hope we have a better performance at Hockenheim" Ralf finished ninth fastest in the British GP qualifying. He moved up one place on the grid thanks to Raikkonen's penalty. Toyota in good shape at Silverstone Ralf: We had a reasonably positive result in Magny-Cours so our target is another strong points finish. Questionnaire with Ralf It's quite technical (about his performance at Magny Cours) and at the end he talks about his dog being stolen. British GP Toyota preview Ralf said: I had a run of good fortune at Silverstone in my early F1 years from 1997 through to 2000 when I finished in the top 6 each year. Read an article at sportinglife.com Ralf: "This was a good result considering where we came from at the beginning of the weekend, going out first in qualifying. We got through the whole weekend without any incidents or reliability issues, and I'm happy to be going home with two points... It was good that we got both cars home in the points and I'd like to thank the team for all their help. I wish it could have been more but we have to be happy with this today" Ralf: Michael still in title hunt Ralf said at the French GP he believed Michael could still take a record eighth title after the U.S. GP tyre crisis. Ralf: "It's great for him, it puts him back into the possibility of going for the championship again if the next few races run well. I didn't think (Michael could win the championship) but in the given circumstances, especially when nobody else scores, it's a totally different issue, isn't it? I still think under normal circumstances it's going to be difficult but who knows how many technical problems another guy might have" This is more like it... F1 teams appeal F1 teams will lodge an appeal against the guilty verdicts handed down to them after the US Grand Prix fiasco. This is ridiculous... Formula One to Penalize Seven Teams (29 June) The FIA will announce their punishments Sept 14. The teams will face punishments ranging from a reprimand to life bans — but the FIA can only indirectly punish Michelin by applying pressure on the teams using its tires. The problems are the latest that threaten to break up the F1 series. Nine of the teams are considering a breakaway series in 2008 backed by three key manufacturers — BMW, Mercedes and Renault. Honda and Toyota have also given unofficial support to the idea. F1 owner Bernie Ecclestone is trying to persuade the teams to sign a new contract beginning in 2008 and Ferrari has already signed up through 2012. Michelin will refund fans (29 June) Michelin has offered to refund the cost of tickets of all 160,000 spectators at the US GP. This will cost them about 16 million dollars. They also offered to buy 20,000 tickets for the 2006 US GP which will be offered to this year's customers as a promotional gesture. Ralf had his 30th birthday on 30th June. Ralf: "I think every driver is pretty eager to race at Magny Cours... it's a very smooth race track, which should suit our car more than some others". Ralf before Magny Cours (28 June) "I'm fully recovered from my accident and I'm looking forward to getting back to racing in France. Magny-Cours is not my favourite track but the French Grand Prix is one of six races which I have won in my career. I also took my first pole there in 2001. I did not take part in last year's event, so this week's race will mark my first trip since I won in 2003. It is hard to know how we will perform there this year, but our overall package is still competitive with half of the season now gone, so we will certainly be looking for more points". From: bbc.co.uk Finally Ralf's pet chihuahua stolen (1 July) There's also a little interview with Ralf. |
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