25/04/2004

Grand Prix of San Marino - Race Round-Up

Olivier Panis (Car 17 Chassis TF104/03)
Session Classification: 11th +1 lap from race winner
Grid: 13th

"Once again we proved the reliability of the TF104 and I was able to extend my 100% finishing record this year. I pushed very hard throughout the race and we did some good pit stops but we still need to develop better pace. Everybody in the team has worked really hard which is reflected by our consistency. We have to continue concentrating on making improvements to our performance and the progress we have made since Melbourne shows that sooner rather than later the effort should pay off."

Cristiano da Matta (Car 16 Chassis TF104/04)
Session Classification: DNF +30 laps from race winner
Grid: 10th

"The weekend started quite positively with a top ten qualifying position but unfortunately the race did not continue the trend. I was given a Drive Through penalty and followed my normal procedure when I came into the pits. That involves pressing two buttons - one for the pit lane speed limiter and one for the launch control. But the launch control button also disables the traction control and of course this time I was not actually stopping. I got to the first chicane where I was caught out by not having any traction control and went off the circuit. It is a mistake but very frustrating... The only thing to do is to look forward to Barcelona a track that should be more suited to the TF104."

Tsutomu Tomita - Team Principal
"It was a long difficult race and we are disappointed not to get the two cars to the finish. Both drivers had reasonable starts and were quite competitive through the first stint. Although we were able to race some of the cars around us our race pace was not good enough to keep up with the field in front. Then Cristiano got a Drive Through penalty for a blue flag incident. Unfortunately he made a mistake in his switch settings which disabled the traction control and meant he went off at the chicane. Overall not a bad weekend for us as we made further steps ahead. Nevertheless to score points we need to make more improvements so that we have a quicker race car."

T-car: TF104/06 (set-up for Olivier Panis)
Spare chassis: TF104/05