2011 end of term report – Timo Glock

The 2011 season came to an end last weekend and it is now time to look back at it.

As of now, Nextgen-Auto.com will review each driver and team performance in this year’s championship. We’ve chosen to save the best for last so will be starting from the bottom end of the standings.

The last place befell to Virgin’s Timo Glock.

Season review:

After spending 2010 at the back of the grid with the newly-formed Virgin Cosworth team, Timo Glock could hope for a better season in 2011…
Unfortunately, this campaign proved to be extremely difficult for the former Toyota driver. Incidentally, his season began with a loose front-left wheel in Australia… and ended with a loose rear wheel in Brazil.
In the meantime, the German could count on improved reliability but had to cope with a far from competitive car which didn’t allow him to challenge his direct rivals, Team Lotus and HRT. Glock gave his best but, despite his efforts, his best results were two 15th places in Canada and Italy.

He failed to finish a race on five occasions – an improvement compared to his nine retirements in 2010. He crossed the finish line in Australia but was not classified as he was nine laps behind the race winner. In Turkey, a gearbox failure prevented him from even starting the race. In Monaco, Glock retired with a broken suspension. He crashed in Singapore and retired from the Indian Grand Prix after a collision. Finally, in Brazil, he had to pull out of the race after losing a rear wheel.

Conclusion:

25th in the drivers’ championship, Timo Glock ended the season behind his teammate Jérôme d’Ambrosio in the standings. However, he beat him fair and square in qualifying: he outqualified the Belgian rookie 15 times out of 19.

The German was not a happy chap after his retirement in Brazil and, despite the struggles, prolonged his contract with Virgin until 2014. He may be hoping the new collaboration with McLaren will move the team forward.

Highs:

—  Strong
—  Outqualified d’Ambrosio 15 times out of 19

Lows:
—  Motivation dwindling after two years at the back of the grid?
—  Is his experience really benefiting Virgin?

Nextgen-Auto.com marks :

— Olivier Ferret : 10/20
— D.Thys : 12/20
— Sandrine Bouchard : 12/20
— Jean-Michel Setbon : 11/20
— Average mark on the forum Nextgen-Auto.com : 9/20
— Global mark : 54/100