Rd.3 Brazil Grand Prix 2002

31/03/2002

Brazilian Grand Prix - Race

Panasonic Toyota Racing scored its second world championship point of the season in the Brazilian Grand Prix this afternoon. Mika Salo finished sixth mirroring his result in Melbourne while Allan McNish retired.

Mika Salo Car No 24

Position: 6th 1:32.37.074 70 of 71 laps
Chassis: TF102/04
"I am very happy with this point. It's a great result for the team. The race was hard but I did not have any significant problems so what can I say? I don't think this was a lucky point. The car works well and is reliable so we deserve this result. It is still the same car that we used in Australia. For Imola we have new parts coming and I hope we can take another step forward."

Allan McNish Car No 25
Position: Retired 40 of 71 laps
Chassis: TF102/05
"I made a good start and was making very good progress until Montoya and Schumacher had contact. I was just behind Mika when he pulled out and I hit Juan's wing which was lying in the middle of the track. It damaged the nose of my car and punctured the front tyres so I was forced to pit. The car's handling then got worse and worse with oversteer and at Turn 4 the rear wheel locked up."

Ove Andersson President
"Third race of the season second point - it is just fantastic. We are very proud of the reliability of our car which has allowed Mika to cross the finishing line in all 3 grands prix to date. But we still have a lot work to do before we can score points without the benefit of retirements ahead of us."

Weather: Dry hot and humid
Weather: Hot and sunny
Temperatures: Air 31 - 32°C Track 33- 42°C Humidity 32 - 37%
Humidity: Humidity 52%
T-car: Chassis TF102/02 set up for Mika Salo

Review
Allan McNish ended free practice in a respectable 3rd position on Friday with Mika Salo in 15th. In qualifying Salo managed to score a top 10 grid position for the second time while McNish put his TF102 in 16th place.

Preview
Panasonic Toyota Racing will test next week in Valencia Spain from Tuesday 2nd April to Thursday 4th April. Allan McNish will carry out the driving duties.