30/05/2004

Grand Prix of Europe - Race Round-Up

Olivier Panis (Car 17 Chassis TF104/07)
Classification: 11th +1 lap (from race winner)
Grid: 10th
"I got a fantastic start and took some risk heading into the first corner but I managed to gain two places in the process. Everything was going well and I was retaining eighth place but it became rather difficult to hold onto the group in front of me. The tyres dropped off quite quickly and it was clear that the race was going to be tough. I am very disappointed for myself and the whole team but at least we finished the race so from here we will continue to keep pushing to produce a quicker racing car."

Cristiano da Matta (Car 16 Chassis TF104/04 T-car TF104/06)
Classification: DNF +60 laps (from race winner)
Grid: 11th
"I didn't really see what happened only a Williams locking its wheels quite badly approaching the first corner. After that there was not a great deal I could do about the situation. I tried to carry on to the left to make my way around but there was nowhere for me to go. Obviously it is not nice to retire from a race through no fault of my own but it was a racing incident and these things occur from time to time. I have a three-day test in Silverstone next week where we will work hard on preparing the cars for the next back-to-back races in Canada and the US."

Tsutomu Tomita - Team Principal
"Overall it was a frustrating race for Panasonic Toyota Racing. On the softer of the Michelin tyre compounds we struggled for consistency. With our general lack of grip it seems that we were affected more in terms of race pace as the tyres went off and the car began to slide. Cristiano was pushed off at the start which was not his fault. Olivier made a good start but was not able to maintain the speed of the group in front of him. We were simply not able to keep up with the two-stopping cars but we will continue to put all of our efforts into making developments for the rest of the season."