26/05/2002

Monaco Grand Prix - Race

Neither Panasonic Toyota Racing driver finished the demanding Monaco Grand Prix today. Allan McNish retired on lap 15. Mika Salo experienced brake problems which are frequent at Monaco and hit the wall just nine laps from the chequered flag.

Mika Salo - Car No. 24

Position:	DNF 69/78 laps completed
Chassis:	TF102/04

"We had an unplanned pit stop near the start after my left rear tyre lost tread causing lots of vibration. After a change of tyres the car felt great but I completely lost the brake pedals towards the end causing me to crash. It was a good 100th Grand Prix weekend and I enjoyed actually racing with other drivers."

Allan McNish - Car No. 25

Position:	DNF 15/78 laps completed
Chassis:	TF102/02

"I was driving very comfortably and the car was feeling very strong. I just touched the inside barrier at Sainte Devote which bounced the car on to the outside. It was my first time at Monaco and these things can happen. We have had a competitive weekend and we are already looking ahead to Montreal."

Ove Andersson - President
"Overall it has been a very competitive weekend for the team. Practice and qualifying produced our best ever results. We could have finished in the points today but without the problems a lot of other teams could say the same. It was particularly encouraging to see Mika able to fight for position with a Ferrari."

Weather:	Dry sunny and warm
Temperatures:	Air - Min 21°C Max 24°C Track - Min 32°C Max 37°C Average humidity 53%

Review
Thursday's free practice saw Allan and Mika line up a superb 2nd and 5th on the team's Monaco debut. Qualifying produced the first double top ten result as Mika started his 100th GP in 9th and Allan began his first Monaco GP in 10th.

Preview
Panasonic Toyota Racing now looks ahead to round 8 in Canada and moves to Silverstone to carry out a three-day test in preparation. Stephane Sarrazin and Ryan Briscoe test Tuesday with Salo and McNish taking over duties on Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 May.