27/09/2003

United States Grand Prix - Second Qualifying Session

Panasonic Toyota Racing will start tomorrow's United States Grand Prix from its highest ever grid position after Olivier Panis posted a sensational 3rd fastest time in second qualifying at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today. Cristiano da Matta was forced to jump in the T-car after his race car developed an engine-related problem during the lunchtime warm-up session. The Brazilian still set a competitive qualifying time and ended up ninth to score the team's fourth double top ten of the year.

Olivier Panis - Car Number 20
Session Classification:3rd
Lap Time:1m11.920s +0.250s from pole
Running Order:7th
Chassis:TF103/08
"This is a brilliant result for the entire team. I have not started a race on the second row of the grid since the Grand Prix in Argentina back in 1997. I am looking forward to having some fun in the race tomorrow alongside some of the most competitive drivers in the field. We have had a mixed season in terms of results but it is fabulous to see the rewards of our non-stop efforts. I know that we are not yet in a position to fight for victory but we have a good car and I expect to pick up a lot of points tomorrow to try and catch BAR-Honda and Jaguar our nearest rivals in the championship."

Cristiano da Matta - Car Number 21
Session Classification:9th
Lap Time:1m12.326s +0.656s from pole
Running Order:10th
Chassis:TF103/02 (T-car)
"All things considered I think my lap today was okay. Unfortunately I had to switch to the spare car at the last minute because the engine was overheating during the warm-up session and we didn't want to take any risks. The T-car was set-up for me anyway but even so you always lose out by some tenths-of-a-second which is critical when the field is as tight as it is here. For tomorrow's race things should be pretty good; the car has been running strongly all weekend so I think that if the weather stays dry we should be looking for points."

Ove Andersson - Team Principal
"I am speechless! In only our 32nd race we have qualified a Toyota on the second row of the grid after Olivier took third place with a really impressive lap. It was a shame that Cristiano had to jump into the T-car which almost certainly affected his time but he drove a solid lap to score ninth and another double top ten qualifying result for the team. The atmosphere in the garage during that session was absolutely remarkable and I have to say a big thank you to all the guys for producing such a fantastic result. The cars have looked competitive since first thing yesterday morning and if luck is on our side tomorrow we should expect to pick up a few points."

Weather:Cloudy but dry with sunny spells.
T-car:Spare Chassis: TF103/04

Weekend at a Glance
Friday practice (dry-wet track)
Panis P3 1m11.388s 20 laps
Da Matta P11 1m12.084s 23 laps

Friday qualifying (wet track)
Da Matta P11 1m11.949s (+2.383s)
Panis P14 1m17.666s (+8.100s)

Saturday practice 1 (damp-drying track)
Da Matta P6 1m13.098s 17 laps
Panis P7 1m13.306s 10 laps

Saturday practice 2 (dry track)
Panis P7 1m11.758s 22 laps
Da Matta P13 1m12.671s 15 laps

Warm-Up (dry track)
Panis P3 1m12.127 5 laps
Da Matta P7 1m12.699s 5 laps