"I think things are looking good. The standings are too complex to give a precise response, as the last race proved. "We recall well how Magny Cours was demanding and how at Hockenheim we dominated. There was also the race at the Hungaroring where, leaving aside the weather, things went our way. Overall, it is tough to predict the relative strength of the teams as they alter according to the track. I think that we should be competitive at the weekend. After all, our potential is as high as ever.”
Ferrari will also no doubt be aided by Renault’s failure to incorporate their mass damper system, something that arguably puts the Schumacher and
Felipe Massa as favourites for glory.
Indeed, Massa will be eager for another good result, despite narrowly missing out on his maiden pole position in Turkey, while the Brazilian will be determined to eke away from Raikkonen and Fisichella for third in the points standings.
Toyota – Ralf Schumacher (#7), Jarno Trulli (#8):
Hungary was ultimately a missed opportunity for
Toyota, although on this occasion they were at the whim of their ineffective wet weather
Bridgestone, which left them unable to capitalise on their strong double top ten qualifying positions.
Indeed, what was a strong run to the tail of the struggling
Honda team a couple of rounds ago now looks like a lost cause following their rival’s resurgence in form, while Ralf Schumacher’s sole sixth place has dropped them back into the clutches of
BMW Sauber in the constructors’ standings.
Nonetheless, Toyota’s form has been strong of late and although Honda may well have pulled fourth place out of reach, both Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli are confident of a strong showing in Turkey to cement fifth.
"We should go to Turkey looking to come away with a good finish. We've continued to improve our performance as the season has gone on and apart from the problems we suffered in Hungary we have been fast at the last few races,"
said Ralf.
"We haven't brought home as many good results as we would have liked but the trend is clearly on its way up. The team has turned our situation around and it's a very good job that they have done. Now we have to build on that and come away with more points over the last few races."
