27/09/2003

Unites States Grand Prix - Second Qualifying Report

Panasonic Toyota Racing achieved its best qualifying performance of the season at Indianapolis when Olivier Panis finished a thrilling session third fastest. The Frenchman took his Toyota TF103 around the 4.192km circuit in 1m11.920s just a quarter of a second slower than pole position man Kimi Raikkonen's West McLaren Mercedes.

To cap a superb day for the team Cristiano da Matta lines up for the race in ninth position despite having to take the spare Toyota chassis after the team pinpointed a possible overheating problem on the engine in his race car.

A delighted Panis explained: "I said yesterday morning that I was confident and the car has been competitive all weekend. This has been a tough season but we have all worked really hard and this is a great reward. We are fighting with Jaguar and BAR-Honda in the constructors championship and this has given us a good opportunity to score some very strong points."

Da Matta said: "It was a shame that I had to take the T-car for my run. It is well prepared of course but when you spend a couple of days fine-tuning your race chassis and then you have to take a different car at the last moment it is always a bit tough. Having said that my time is only three tenths behind Olivier but that part of the grid is so competitive that I am six places lower! In the circumstances I have to be happy with another top 10 grid position - my sixth of the season on my first visit to Indy."

The Indianapolis grid has a highly interesting look to it. Championship contender Raikkonen is on pole position ahead of Rubens Barrichello's Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro car (1m11.794s). Panis's Toyota heads both BMW Williams F1 Team entries with championship aspirant Juan Pablo Montoya fourth (1m11.948s) team mate Ralf Schumacher fifth (1m12.078s) and then Fernando Alonso (1m12.087s) and Michael Schumacher (1m12.194s).

Panasonic Toyota Racing team manager Ange Pasquali enthused: "It's really fantastic because it's the first top three in F1 qualifying for Toyota. Olivier produced a fabulous lap and the session was really close. It was continuous excitement for us!"

Indianapolis always poses a big set-up conundrum: whether to sacrifice sector two and perhaps overall lap speed in order to be quick down the straight. This has been an even bigger factor this year due to the fact that cars cannot be changed between qualifying and race.

"It is difficult to say how tactical it all was Pasquali added, because the second sector times are a bit up and down. But the important thing is that we are happy with the car and with progress. It was a pity that Cristiano had to take the T-car at the last minute but it was the safest option. Even if the cars are identical it's never psychologically the same so it's superb to have two cars in the top 10.

"Michelin has also done a great job because many thought that the opposition might be strong with temperatures lower than expected. It's good for us and it's good for the championship. The front row is completely unexpected and I think the people tomorrow are going to have a fantastic show."