22/03/2003

Malaysian Grand Prix - Second Qualifying Web Report

Panasonic Toyota Racing drivers Olivier Panis (1m38.094s) and Cristiano da Matta (1m38.097s) will start from 10th and 11th places on the grid for round two of the Formula 1 World Championship at the challenging Sepang circuit tomorrow.

An interesting single-shot qualifying hour produced a different grid but it is clear that the Toyota TF103 has made undoubted steps towards the front of the F1 field. Both Panis and Da Matta lapped just 1.0s from the pole position time although ultimately it is difficult to assess exactly which team is running on what strategy given the FIA's new regulation saying that teams must qualify their cars with their intended fuel load for the start of the race.

Panis said: "Yesterday we took a bit of a gamble with the set-up but the car did not handle too well so we worked extremely hard overnight and went back to something more conventional today. The car felt much better to drive in this morning's free practice sessions although I lost time session when I had a mechanical problem. But definitely the car feels more consistent and competitive and I feel confident about our strategy and the race tomorrow. Starting from tenth we have a good chance to score points tomorrow."

Da Matta who was a fine fifth quickest in Saturday morning's practice session on his debut race weekend in Sepang qualified just 0.003s behind Panis's time. The Brazilian continues to impress the team with both the speed at which he learns circuits and with his approach to his first season in Formula 1. Had it not been for a clutch problem that forced him into the spare TF103 chassis for qualifying Da Matta could have been even quicker.

The Brazilian commented: "Racing drivers always want to achieve more but we definitely made progress with the car and I put a pretty good lap together all things considered. It's a shame about having to change cars but the team did a good job and I think that when we consider the big picture we should be quite satisfied."

Mild Seven Renault F1 drivers Fernando Alonso (1m37.044s) and Jarno Trulli (1m37.217s) surprised the field today by claiming the front row of the grid. It was the first ever pole position in Formula 1 history for a Spanish driver and at 21-years-old Alonso is the youngest driver ever to take pole position.

Behind the Renaults Michael Schumacher claimed the third fastest time for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro with a best lap of 1m37.393s. David Coulthard (1m37.454s) was fourth quickest for West McLaren Mercedes ahead of Rubens Barrichello (1m37.579s) in the second Ferrari and Nick Heidfeld (1m37.766s) who achieved a top six position in what is the closest thing to a home race for the Sauber Petronas team.

Panasonic Toyota Racing's Ove Andersson looking ahead to tomorrow's race said: "I am more than satisfied with the performance of Olivier Cristiano and the whole team today. The working conditions are tough here for everyone considering the heat but we have worked effectively and I think we are on a good strategy for tomorrow."