Toyota have blamed the track surface at Albert Park for Timo Glock’s horrific crash at Melbourne a week ago.
Timo Glock’s race was brought to an abrupt end when he careered of the track at the high-speed left-right chicane bringing out the safety car for the third time. The German ran wide on the exit of Turn 12 and on attempting to rejoin the track, hit a bump and launched his TF108 into the air and eventually the advertising hoardings.
Following an investigation Toyota have attributed the cause of the accident to the run-off area at Turn 12 citing an uneven track surface.
“Timo (Glock)’s car was damaged in Australia due to the height gap between the gravel runoff area and the grass,†explained Noritoshi Arai, Toyota’s director of technical co-ordination.
Glock sustained minor wrist injuries as a result of the accident but was cleared by the FIA’s medical team to take part in the Malaysian Grand Prix using the T-car.
In a testament to the rigorous safety tests that modern Formula One cars undergo, Toyota discovered that the damage inflicted on Glock’s Toyota wasn’t as bad as the dramatic television pictures portrayed. The Cologne-based outfit were even considering using the car in Sepang.
“The damage wasn’t as bad as it first appeared, and we even considered using the car as is,†confessed Arai, “but we found some minor damage in the smaller components around the brackets and suspension connections.
“Accordingly, we made the decision to use our T-car from the Australian GP, just to be safe.â€
Unfortunately, Tim Glock’s Malaysian hopes were dashed even quicker than they were in Melbourne after the F1 returnee and reigning GP2 champ was punted out of the race on the opening lap by Nico Rosberg.
