OK, I’m somewhat pulling Timo Glock’s quote out of context, but not by much.
While the Formula 1 world is getting ready to descend on Valencia for the best race of the F1 season*, Glock is looking ahead a few more weeks to the British Grand Prix. That’s when Virgin will be bringing some additional upgrades to the car that, he hopes, will make the car not “really, really bad” anymore.
Here’s Timo, via Autosport:
“We’ve made a step in the right direction but we still need more,” Glock told AUTOSPORT. “I hope we make a big step in Silverstone, where a new upgrade comes – and we will see what is possible then.
“But we have to develop more the car. The car is far too heavy, and mechanically and aerodynamically we are just not where we should be.
“For sure the first three months of the year cost us a lot of development time with all the updates we had. The updates are now coming, but they are little steps and we need more. That is where we have to improve.
“Mechanically the car is really, really bad over bumps and we have to improve. We don’t have the spec like the others, or what I had at Toyota, and that would bring us a good step in the right direction.”
OK, so the car is “really, really bad” in a specific way — over bumps. But has it just been me or have the tracks this season all seemed to be extra bumpy? I don’t feel like I recall hearing that detail so dominate descriptions of the tracks, at least for a few years.
So it might have been a bad season to bring a car that wasn’t so good on the bumps.
Timo does have praise for one part of the car, however. Unfortunately, it isn’t one that Virgin had anything to do with:
“I have to say I was quite surprised by the Cosworth engine,” he said. “In terms of power it is pretty good, and I am quite happy with it.”
Now, all joking aside — and keep in mind, the Virgin PR machine probably has taken over the irreverent label from Red Bull, so I know they can handle some ribbing — everyone at F1B desperately wants to see Virgin do well. We’ve been impressed how the team, from top to bottom, has handled the season, and you all know how highly Todd rates Timo.
But it can’t be a good thing when “really, really bad” can be used in any way to describe your car. I hope the team does find some magical upgrades and, at the least, starts taking it to Lotus a bit more.
After all, none of us want to see Richard Branson in a flight attendant outfit, do we?
* Just kidding.
