06/03/2004

Grand Prix of Australia - Qualifying Report

The Panasonic Toyota Racing team faces a tough task to score points in the opening race of the new F1 season in Melbourne Australia after Cristiano da Matta (1m27.823s) qualified 13th quickest but Olivier Panis suffered an electrical problem that means he must start from eighteenth on the grid.

The team had a productive couple of sessions of practice on Saturday morning with Panis in particular feeling much more confident with his set-up and balance than he had on the opening day. Unfortunately his electrical gremlin meant that he had no throttle at the start of his all-important final qualifying lap and the car had to be pushed back into the Toyota pit.

"From near the back of the grid it will obviously mean a long tough race from the back. But of course I will do everything that I can the Frenchman said. It is a real shame because we showed in the morning practice that we have made big improvements in the car since Friday. I certainly felt more comfortable and confident to drive it."

Da Matta meanwhile felt that the car was not as good in qualifying as it had been in morning practice. "It's frustrating when you get a situation like that he explained. The two morning sessions went well with a small electrical problem at the end of the first period my only problem. I thought there was still a little bit of performance to come and I have to hold up my hands and admit to a small error in Turn 14. But the car's balance was definitely not as good either. I didn't feel that I had as much grip as in the morning -- I don't know if it was track conditions or another factor. I was expecting better so it is a little disappointing."

Team technical director chassis Mike Gascoyne explained: "We had a reasonably good couple of morning sessions with no major problems. We fixed Cristiano's electrical problem before the second session and Olivier made good strides forward as well. But then before Olivier could start his second qualifying run proper there was some electrical damage to the car and we couldn't fire it up. The damage also prevented the throttle from working - a big shame after the progress we had made."

At the front of the field six times champion Michael Schumacher (1m24.408s) will start the defence of his title from pole position alongside Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team mate Rubens Barrichello who was just 0.08s slower. Third is Juan Pablo Montoya (1m24.998s) for the BMW Williams F1 Team who set an identical time to Jenson Button's BAR-Honda but took priority having set a quicker time in the first part of the new qualifying session. Fernando Alonso (1m25.699s) was fifth for the Mild Seven Renault F1 Team ahead of home hero Mark Webber (1m25.805s) for Jaguar Racing.