Toyota is hoping to build on its Montreal point scoring finish this Sunday when F1 returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Jarno Trulli took fourth place last year after battling his way through from the back of the field.
Last Sunday's points were achieved courtesy of under-fire Ralph Schumacher with Trulli unlucky not to have also finished in the points following an incident near the end of the chaotic race.
Schumacher in a team preview said that the US track has never been a lucky track for him – he has had a couple of incidents there.
"Now I will look to put those behind me with a more positive visit to the venue. The main challenge of the Speedway's F1 circuit is to balance the set-up of the car. We have to reach a good top speed along the banked start-finish straight into the first corner while keeping the car stable through the slow and twisty infield section. This season has been a struggle for me but I remain confident that we can turn our form around. We scored a point at Montreal and Toyota has a strong record from its races at Indianapolis so we will hope to give the team a boost with a good result on Sunday.
Trulli said that for as long as he's been at Toyota the car had always been competitive at Indianapolis.
"In 2005 I took pole position and last year I finished fourth despite starting from the pit lane. I enjoy the atmosphere both at the circuit and in the town because everyone is so friendly. The Formula 1 track is not particularly technical but it is slippery and we work hard on the mechanical grip in the slow corners to allow us to take off downforce for straight-line speed. We've been having a difficult season in 2007 and the Canadian Grand Prix was a very hard race for me but now I'm hoping for a better weekend's work."
Last Sunday's points were achieved courtesy of under-fire Ralph Schumacher with Trulli unlucky not to have also finished in the points following an incident near the end of the chaotic race.
Schumacher in a team preview said that the US track has never been a lucky track for him – he has had a couple of incidents there.
"Now I will look to put those behind me with a more positive visit to the venue. The main challenge of the Speedway's F1 circuit is to balance the set-up of the car. We have to reach a good top speed along the banked start-finish straight into the first corner while keeping the car stable through the slow and twisty infield section. This season has been a struggle for me but I remain confident that we can turn our form around. We scored a point at Montreal and Toyota has a strong record from its races at Indianapolis so we will hope to give the team a boost with a good result on Sunday.
Trulli said that for as long as he's been at Toyota the car had always been competitive at Indianapolis.
"In 2005 I took pole position and last year I finished fourth despite starting from the pit lane. I enjoy the atmosphere both at the circuit and in the town because everyone is so friendly. The Formula 1 track is not particularly technical but it is slippery and we work hard on the mechanical grip in the slow corners to allow us to take off downforce for straight-line speed. We've been having a difficult season in 2007 and the Canadian Grand Prix was a very hard race for me but now I'm hoping for a better weekend's work."