23/03/2003

Malaysian Grand Prix - Race Report

Panasonic Toyota Racing endured a frustrating Malaysian Grand Prix when a re-occurrence of fuel pressure problems experienced in the season-opening Melbourne race meant that Olivier Panis failed to finish the race. Despite similar difficulties Cristiano da Matta completed his first ever Formula 1 race giving the team it's first finish of the season in 11th position.

The team went into the race in optimistic frame of mind after qualifying in the top 10 and Frenchman Panis ran in the top six at the end of the opening lap.

"There was a collision at the first corner but I managed to get through untouched and was having a really good battle with Rubens Barrichello. As we expected after qualifying the car was very competitive early in the race."

Panis made his first stop on lap 12 of the 56 suggesting that Toyota had opted for a short first stint and then a longer middle segment of the race. Unfortunately for Panis however he was out of the race almost as soon as he left the pits.

"I came in for my scheduled stop we put some fuel in but then after three corners the fuel pressure suddenly went down and the engine died. It was very similar to what we experienced in Melbourne but at the moment we don't know if it is exactly the same. It's pretty annoying and I feel sorry for the team after the guys worked so hard all weekend in these incredible temperatures."

The high temperatures in fact may have contributed to the fuel problem but this will only be known when the team is able to do a full analysis.

It was an afternoon of frustration for Da Matta too the fuel pressure problems causing him to run heavy all race completely masking his and the TF103's potential.

"I've known better afternoons!" the Brazilian admitted. "On the way to the grid I had a throttle problem. It was basically okay for the first few corners and then the car would not accelerate any more. I had no choice but to jump back into what was originally my race car after taking the T-car when I had a clutch problem in Saturday qualifying.

"Then frustratingly we had the pressure problem on low fuel so I had to run the whole race on very heavy fuel loads. I was forced to stop three times (on laps 17 33 and 48) in a 56-lap race. I tried to just get on with it but obviously weight compromises your competitiveness a lot and I found it hard to pass anybody. That was a big shame because I thought we could have finished in the points today. Hopefully I can achieve that in my home race in Brazil."

The first few laps of the race were critical to the result as Michael Schumacher came together with Jarno Trulli and Melbourne winner David Coulthard had a mechanical problem. Through it all came Coulthard's West McLaren Mercedes team mate Kimi Raikkonen to score his debut Grand Prix victory. Rubens Barrichello finished second for Scuderia Marlboro Ferrari and delighted pole position man Fernando Alonso completed the podium.

Ralf Schumacher brought the first BMW Williams F1 Team entry home in fourth place after team mate Juan Montoya became embroiled in the first lap accident. Jarno Trulli scored a second successive fifth place for the Mild Seven Renault team with five times world champion Michael Schumacher recovering to finish sixth. The final points were claimed by Jenson Button for Lucky Strike BAR Honda and Nick Heidfeld for Sauber Petronas.

Raikkonen now leads heads the championship with 16 points to Coulthard's 10 with a five-way tie for third featuring Montoya Barrichello Alonso Michael Schumacher and Trulli. Panasonic Toyota Racing is hopeful of scoring its first points of the season in round three at Interlagos on April 6 but before that comes a dual test in Spain and France. Da Matta will test in Barcelona on Wednesday and Thursday. Panis will complete the three-day test on Friday whilst third driver Ricardo Zonta whose birthday it was today will run a three-day test at Circuit Paul Ricard.