29/05/2004

Grand Prix of Europe - Qualifying Round-Up

Olivier Panis (Car 17" Chassis TF104/07)
Pre-Qualifying: 10th
Lap Time: 1m29.243s (+1.552s)
Qualifying: 10th
Lap Time: 1m29.697s (+1.346s)
Grid Position: 10th
"It has been an encouraging weekend so far and I think what we have achieved today is a true reflection of the strength of our car. Me and Cristiano both did very good laps and the result is very positive for the team who have again been concentrated all weekend and shown a good performance. We are using everything we have and pushing each other all the way to get the best out of the car. From tenth on the grid I will obviously be trying to score some points tomorrow."

Cristiano da Matta (Car 16 Chassis TF104/04 T-car TF104/03)
Pre-Qualifying: 11th
Lap Time: 1m29.272s (+1.581s)
Qualifying: 11th
Lap Time: 1m29.706s (+1.355s)
Grid Position: 11th
"I am reasonably happy with today's results although I feel that I could have found a few tenths more from the car. I missed a little bit through some corners especially turns four and five but generally I think my lap was not too bad. I was a bit worried about the tyre degradation in yesterday's sessions but that appeared to be much better today as more rubber went down on the track. Michelin has done a good job for this race; the tyres are quick over one lap and also seem to be consistent during the longer runs. This is a positive aspect for tomorrow although it could be a hard race for us."

Mike Gascoyne - Technical Director Chassis
"Qualifying today was very close indeed and we are right on the tail of the group in front of us. Based on our performance during the weekend I am sure we can have a competitive race tomorrow and look to score more points to add to the ones we picked up in Monaco. Both drivers are reasonably happy with the car and I think our grid positions of 10th and 11th and the gap to those ahead of us perfectly demonstrate the progress that Toyota is making."