03/08/2003

German Grand Prix Race Report

Panasonic Toyota Racing achieved its best ever result at Hockenheim when both cars finished the German Grand Prix in the top six. Both Olivier Panis and Cristiano Da Matta drove strong races in a dramatic 12th round of the championship with the Frenchman getting to the chequered flag fifth 4.6s clear of his Brazilian team-mate.

It is the first time since Toyota began its Formula 1 programme last year that it has managed to score points with both cars in the same race a strong achievement in only its 29th Grand Prix. The result moves the team into the constructors' championship top six ahead of Jaguar Racing Jordan Ford and Sauber Petronas!

"That was a tough race Panis said. The track temperatures was 50 degrees and the new Hockenheim is a more physical circuit to drive than the old one. But the car felt good and consistent all race and the team did a great job. Each one of my three stops went like clockwork. Reliability is always an issue in temperatures like that but both the car and the tyres were excellent."

Da Matta added: "It was a good race for me too with the car well-balanced. Everything ran smoothly and it is a fantastic result for the team to score seven world championship points as we head into the three-week break. We'll all be fighting fit when we go to Hungary where another points finish has to be our target."

At the front of the field the championship battle became tighter than ever. A first lap accident eliminated both Kimi Raikkonen and Ralf Schumacher and so Juan Pablo Montoya was able to make strong progress when he scored a dominant win for the BMW Williams F1 Team. Michael Schumacher looked all set to keep a healthy advantage at the top of the table but had to pit with a punctured left rear tyre just five laps from the end. His second place became seventh and he now leads Montoya by just six points in the title race.

David Coulthard drove a strong race with a long middle stint to finish second from 10th on the grid with Jarno Trulli third for the Mild Seven Renault F1 Team ahead of Spanish team mate Fernando Alonso. Behind the TF103s of Panis and Da Matta Schumacher and Jenson Button's BAR completed the points finishers.

Button's eighth for Lucky Strike BAR Honda moved the team onto 15 points one ahead of the Panasonic Toyota Racing total.

Team principal Ove Andersson said: "We have made progress with the car the reliability and operationally. We received due reward today and it is great to see both drivers in the top six. Although things are tight it is good to be heading into the last four races with a realistic possibility of finishing in the constructors' championship top five. We are not going to get carried away but that is strong progress in just the team's second season."

Incidentally the team's progress was perfectly indicated in the fastest race lap classification with Olivier and Cristiano setting the third and fifth quickest laps of the 67-lap GP. Cristiano now has 8 world championship points to his name and lies 12th in the drivers' classification just two places ahead of Olivier who has 6 points in 14th.