Engine trouble puts Monterio at the back

Engine problems force Tiago Monteiro to the back of the grid

The 13th round of the Formula One world championship will be difficult for Tiago Monteiro, after he was left down by his Toyota engine in Saturday morning practice, forcing him to face a penalty of ten positions on the grid after the Jordan team installed a new engine.

Tiago Monteiro.

Photo by xpb.cc.

Therefore, as he knew he would be last on the grid anyway, Tiago preferred to save his new engine and fuel, and returned to the pits at the end of his outlap in qualifying, rather than to go the distance for no purpose.

This is the third time this season that Monteiro has encountered engine woes, but he has always come through in the race, and once again he is hoping that the same will apply on Sunday, so that he can maintain his record of GP finishes by a rookie F1 driver, a record that currently sits at 12 just before the start of the Hungarian round.

"I will contest this race and the Turkish GP with this new engine, but I will be able to use a new one in Monza, which will be particularly useful on the track's fast layout," analyzed an optimistic Tiago.

"I am lucky that all the problems affecting my engines are discovered before the race, which means I can change in time for the races, which is a less of a problem even if it means that I must start from last on the grid."

In spite of his misfortune, Tiago made a point of underlining his satisfaction with the behavior of Jordan Toyota EJ15.

"We found a good set up in regard to the Bridgestone tyres and the amount of fuel on board, a package to which we devoted a lot of time on Friday. My tyres should be strong and constant in the race and thanks to the good balance in the chassis will have to be able to attack during the race. If the temperatures continue to climb, the tyres will play a part crucial in the final result."

-dca-