Rogue Profile of Toyota

“It was a little bit brief but there was no drive in the gearbox and we tried it again in the pits but there was nothing there,” McNish explained.

“My traction control went early on in the race and then I lost fourth gear just after my pit stop. It is my first retirement this year, but it has been a difficult weekend with handling problems,” Salo explained. “The Michelin tyres have been good, but our car has not been making the most of them. We now test in Mugello where we have lots to do.”

“I am reasonably happy even though I had an unscheduled stop due to a punctured left rear tyre, which effectively ruined my race,” he said. “It is a shame because the car was feeling very good and my lap times were respectable. I lost a lot of time as I couldn’t get past Ralf Schumacher, who had problems, but it was good to get 9th place after he retired.”

“Things were going really well and the car was feeling the best it has all weekend. I was overtaking a lot of cars but I had to stop early to change what I thought was a punctured rear tyre,” Mika explained. “In fact, the front tyre was damaged by something on the track, so I had to come in again. Then I got a drive through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. It was already over by that point, but brake trouble – probably caused by the puncture – ended the race for me. I am extremely disappointed.”

“We agreed to take a chance on a one-stop strategy, but during the race we realised the tyres we chose were suffering from the heavy fuel load,” Salo said. “This caused handling problems, which is why I went off a couple of times and lost positions. I had to come in earlier than scheduled for my stop for this reason and then had to stop again later to change tyres again. I think my retirement was a gearbox- related problem, but we have to do further checks before we can be sure.”

“Basically the lights went green and there was a problem with the clutch and the engine stalled. It was not the same problem we had in Imola,” McNish explained. “We tried to get the car going back in the garage but we couldn’t and by that time we were outside of the 90% time you need to be classified, so the race was over. Needless to say I am extremely disappointed, not only for myself and the team but for the fans supporting me here at my home race.”

“I didn’t get such a good start and lost a position by the first corner, but things seemed okay. Then the rain started and our lack of downforce really showed and we struggled with little grip,” Mika said. “I had a small spin and at the end there was a problem with the transmission, something broke in the drive train, and I stopped. Very disappointing after such a good qualifying yesterday.”

Although a drive through penalty had moved Panis for fifth to eight he was still
on course to score points in his first race for the team before a fuel pressure
problem forced him to pull off the track and out of the race.

Although Panis was looking strong for a podium finish had it not been for a
drive-through penalty for crossing the blend line as he exited pit lane on lap
eight he was still philosophical. Which was no surprise after his character shaping
year at BAR in 2002.

"We have been having a problem with the fuel pressure sometimes during
the weekend and it came back during the race today," Olivier said.
"We made a good decision to start the race on slick tyres and it is a real
shame because we were going so well. I am sure we missed out on a podium today,
but I want to remain positive. The car felt really good and I think the whole
team has done a good job and we have shown our potential this weekend."

After only three hours of track experience, Toyota’s Christiano daMatta put in
a stunning display in qualifying only to be forced to start the race from the
pit-lane in the spare car.

His racecar developed a throttle problem on the warm-up lap, forcing the Brazilian
to use the T-car, which he eventually brought home in eleventh place.

"It was a very tough race today. On the way to the grid I had a problem
with the race car, so I had to jump in the T-car and start from the pitlane,"
he said. "We then had a problem with the fuel pressure running on a lighter
fuel load, so I had to run the whole race on a full tank, which made overtaking
impossible. It is very frustrating, but as the race started I had to forget about
it and just do my best. Obviously, it is disappointing, as I feel we could have
finished in the points today, but hopefully we can do just that in my first home
F1 race in Brazil in two weeks’ time."

Olivier Panis was forced to retire from the race midway around the thirteenth
lap of the race. The Frenchman had just stopped for fuel and tyres but on returning
to the circuit his TF103 developed a fuel pressure problem that forced him to
pull off and retire from the race. It was a disappointment given he was running
strongly in the top five in the early stages.

"I had a really good start in the race and was up into the top five,
having a good battle early on with Barrichello. Things were looking really promising
for us and the car was very competitive. I came in for my scheduled pit stop and
we put in some fuel, but after three corners the fuel pressure suddenly went down
and the engine died," he explained. "The problem was very similar
to what we experienced in Melbourne, but at the moment we don’t know if it is
exactly the same. Right now, I am quite angry and I am disappointed for the team,
because everybody has done a very good job this weekend. The car still has a lot
left to give and I am not the type of guy to give up, so we will get results soon."