15 March: Malaysian Grand Prix Q & A : Luca Marmorini
Luca, what are your thoughts heading into the Malaysian Grand Prix? I am looking forward to seeing the race in Malaysia
because this will be the first time that we will be able to see the impact of the new two-race, one-engine rules. We have done the
best job that we can to prepare our engine for Australia and Malaysia, but it is natural that I feel a bit nervous because we have
never had to complete two race weekends with one engine before. It is an excited nervous feeling though, full of expectation and
anticipation. This weekend we will see if everything that we have planned, developed and accomplished over the winter is good
enough.
Were you surprised by the lack of reliability issues in Melbourne? Honestly, I did not expect to see any
teams with engine reliability issues in Australia and it was clear that engine reliability was impressive throughout the grid. Even
last year, most teams were confident with their engine life over one race weekend, so I do not think anyone envisaged any dramas in
Melbourne.
Is the new engine regulation strict enough in your point of view? There is still a grey area in the 2005
engine regulations, whereby a driver can come into the pits before the end of the race, effectively retiring a problem-free car, and
then be permitted to change the engine for the next race.
What is Toyota's opinion on such loopholes? Toyota is
against the existence of such loopholes in technical regulations. Toyota fully accepted the spirit and intention of the new two
race, one engine regulation. We gave the chance for the team to run in all four free practice sessions in Australia, not only
because it is important to learn the car's behaviour at the track, but also because our participation in all sessions over the
weekend is part of the F1 show. Even though our drivers did not score any points in the race, we decided to pass the chequered flag
out of respect for the spirit of the new rules. This obviously increases the chance of having an engine failure in Malaysia, but
this is what we understand by the concept of racing.
Is this why Ralf Schumacher's engine was not changed after qualifying
in Australia? Yes - Ralf's qualifying was massively negated by the bad weather and left him near the back of the grid. It
would have been easier to change the engine in those conditions with a comparatively minimal penalty, but to do this, especially in
the first race, is not acceptable in our opinion. During the course of the season, we may change an engine if there are doubts or
issues technically, but we should avoid it wherever possibly as part of the gentleman's agreement that was accepted before the
season started.
Ralf and Jarno completed a lot of laps in Melbourne – what is the current mileage of their respective
RVX-05 engines? In Australia, I think we were the team who completed most kilometres over the weekend – at least us and
Jordan probably! Ralf has around 570km on his RVX-05 already, whilst Jarno has about 670km.
How is the working relationship
with Jordan? I think everything ran extremely smoothly between Jordan and Toyota in Australia. Jordan appear to be pleased
with the contribution that we have made to their team, but we are also particularly pleased with how they operated. They have three
inexperienced drivers and this can increase the misuse of the engine, but we are happy with the job they did and we are looking
forward to seeing them improve. Luckily, we are next door to them in the paddock, so our working relationship is very close. It can
be more stressful for me as Technical Director Engine, though, because I now have four babies to look after during the weekend.
How
will performance of the engine be affected as it is the second race weekend? Typically the performance of an engine increases
a bit after the first 200-300 kilometres. The performance level gets higher compared to the first laps. When speaking about
performance of the engine, we also speak about the stability of the performance. We want to have an engine that is still stable in
terms of its power even after 1200km. This is the parameter we work to and how we develop our engines. Towards the end of the engine
life, there will be a decrease of performance, but our job is to limit this drop off.
Aside from the rules, what is the
biggest pressure exerted on the engine in Malaysia? Quite simply, the heat. Everyone remarks that Malaysia is hot, but it is
the biggest problem we will face because it affects all aspects of the team from the car to the driver, even to the mechanics
working in the garage. Malaysia is the first really hot race of the season, perhaps even the hottest so the internal working
conditions of the engine could be critical. The Sepang International Circuit has two very long straights, so maximum speed is as
important as downforce. But the heat is again the defining issue. We are able to replicate the Malaysian heat in our transient dyno
in Cologne, so we have worked hard to make sure the engine has been run in even hotter conditions to those we expect to see this
weekend, just to cover all eventualities.
What precautions do you take for Malaysia in terms of cooling? The
aerodynamics department has to work a lot in advance of the race to open up the car at the rear to allow more airflow to the
radiators. Our aero team have brought some extremely efficient solutions for engine cooling, so I do not think we will encounter any
significant problems.
Finally, what are your personal goals for Malaysia? If we can finish the Malaysian GP with a
combined engine distance over two races of nearly 1400km with no problems, I will be a very proud and happy man. If we add some
championship points to that, I'll be ecstatic.
