23/04/2003

Mugello Test 22-25 March 2003 - Day 2

Cristiano da Matta today joined Olivier Panis at the Autodromo del Mugello for Panasonic Toyota Racing's second day of testing this week. The Brazilian driver had his first taste of the Italian track in a Formula One car and enjoyed a productive day as well as his French teammate: both covered a massive total of 800 kilometers in overall.

Olivier Panis - Car No. 20
Chassis: TF103/01
Best lap time: 1m23.08 50 laps completed
Working on: further Spanish Grand Prix preparations

"Basically we continued the programme we started yesterday still working on tyre comparisons and on various set-up options for the next race. We also spent a lot of time tuning different electronic systems on the car. We almost completed our task list but a gearbox-related problem in the late afternoon interrupted the long runs we had planned. However it was a relatively productive day and we will do our best to catch up tomorrow."

Cristiano da Matta - Car No. 21
Chassis: TF103/03
Best lap time: 1m23.68 103 laps completed
Working on: learning the track and general work on car set-up and tyres

"Last time I visited this circuit was back in 1996 in Formula 3000 so I completely rediscovered the track this morning. It's quite a demanding circuit with a variance in altitude of more than 40 meters and 15 corners in total. I enjoyed very much this first day and we managed some good and productive work. The technical programme comprised a lot of general items and we will go more into details of Spanish Grand Prix preparations tomorrow."

Weather: Sunny and clear getting cloudy in the late afternoon. Air temperature: 11-25C.

Track: Dry at all times. Track temperature: 14-35C.

Preview:
Cristiano da Matta and Olivier Panis will continue driving tomorrow. Ricardo Zonta will take over Olivier on Friday for the final day of this week's test.

Upcoming Events
Next Test:
06-09 May Circuit Paul Ricard France (Panis 2 days da Matta last 2
Zonta 3 days)

Next Race:
02-04 April 2003 Spanish Grand Prix Barcelona