Toyota Not Getting “Over-Excited” by Qatar Front Row

Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe technical director David Floury says the marque should not get “over-excited” by its front row result in qualifying for this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship season opener in Qatar.

Floury feels the Japanese manufacturer should keep expectations for the Qatar 1812km in check despite Nyck de Vries qualifying within 0.164 seconds of the pole time set by Porsche driver Matt Campbell in the 10-minute Hyperpole session on Friday evening.

De Vries’ performance in the No. 7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid followed a troubled build-up to the WEC season opener for the team, which struggling with tire graining issues owing to the unique nature of the Lusail International Circuit and the car’s increased weight.

Brendon Hartley failed to make it out of the first part of qualifying in the sister No. 8 Toyota, missing out on a spot in Hyperpole with the 11-fastest time with a time more than a second slower than de Vries.

“We were preparing for the race, not so much for pure lap time,” said Floury. “We had one car that ended quite well and one that struggled. It is really a tiny window.

“It is [related to] how the tires behave. Tire usage is really tricky on our side. On this track and with the weight we are having here, it is really difficult.

“It will be difficult in the race as well. We should not get over excited by the qualifying result. We have to focus on the race.”

Floury explained that Toyota’s improvement has been influenced both by track evolution and the improvements Toyota has made on set-up since the Prologue, although he said that both cars were running with more or less identical setups.

“We have been working hard all through the week, but we are still careful because the race will be tough,” he said.

“On race pace we were looking better than the timesheets indicated, but it is difficult to know. We have seen also that the Porsches are also fast in race pace. We expect that the Porsche will be really strong into the race.”

Floury added that de Vries’ performance in his first WEC qualifying session came as no surprise, even if the position itself was way beyond the marque’s expectations.

“I think we have all been surprised [at qualifying second] because we didn’t expect to do such a laptime,” he said. “We had made some bets before the qualifying session, and our expectations were far from this. No one will win that one for sure.

“He has been very strong in qualifying, but it’s not a big surprise. He is a very good driver and this is why we signed him.”

On de Vries’ performance in the No. 7 Toyota, team principal Kamui Kobayashi highlighted the Dutch driver’s recent F1 experience on Pirelli tires, which are notorious for graining, as a possible factor in why he was so much faster than Hartley in qualifying.

By contrast, he said that Hartley in the No. 8 car “finished” his tires even before the start of his hot lap in the first part of qualifying.

“I didn’t think we’d get into Hyperpole,” said Kobayashi. “I think it was only because Nyck was so fast.

“I think my driving style doesn’t suit this track, so I decided to give up [driving in qualifying]. With this circuit and this tire, if you go over the limit just a tiny bit, the tire overheats and you lose grip and you end up with this graining.

“This is not something I’m not good at dealing with, and I’m quite worried about it for the race.

“I think the current Pirelli in F1 is quite similar. If you push, you end up with graining, and he [de Vries] understands that well. We decided on the first day that I wouldn’t do qualifying, because I can’t get on with this track.

“[Hartley] had graining really early. He is quite aggressive, so his tires were finished even before the start of his attack lap.”