19/06/2004

Grand Prix of USA - Qualifying Report

Panasonic Toyota Racing driver Olivier Panis has qualified in eighth place for the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis the halfway point in the 2004 Formula 1 World Championship.

Panis lapped the 4.192km Indy circuit in 1m11.167s and will line up just one place behind the team's best qualifying performance of the season back at Barcelona in May. The Frenchman's time was just 0.94s behind the pole position time set once again by Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro.

"I think we can be satisfied with another solid qualifying position in the top 10 ' Panis said. "This is the fourth time that I have managed it this year. I got another good lap and now we must concentrate on trying to translate it into a race result and try to add to our points tally. Cristiano of course managed that on the track in Canada and we would like to leave North America with some positive memories."

Da Matta himself lines up for the race in 11th position after a lap in 1m11.691s. The Brazilian explained: "I'd been really strong in the practices and I was expecting a little bit more from qualifying than was actually the case. I suspect that gusty winds may have had something to do with it but the car just did not seem to have as much grip as before in certain sections of the lap. I had to be a little bit circumspect when I wanted to be aggressive and I think that hurt me a little. Even so our level of competitiveness looks good and so we can look forward to the race."

Although it was Ferrari claiming the front row of the grid once again Indianapolis gave Rubens Barrichello (1m10.223s) his first pole position of the season some 0.18s quicker than seven times 2004 race winner Michael Schumacher. The second row was claimed by the Lucky Strike BAR Hondas with Takuma Sato lapping in 1m10.601s versus team mate Jenson Button's 1m10.820s. Continuing the symmetry at the front of the grid the BMW Williams F1 Team claimed the third row with Juan Pablo Montoya (1m11.062s) pipping team mate Ralf Schumacher (1m11.106s).

Panasonic Toyota Racing's Technical Director Chassis Mike Gascoyne said: "We have to be pleased by the overall competitiveness we have shown here even if we were privately hoping to get the cars even further up the grid. Cristiano's observation about reduced grip actually affected both cars but if Olivier had managed to find just another tenth of a second he would have qualified in the top five so we cannot complain. Let's hope we can turn it into points tomorrow."

Olivier's 150th grand prix celebrations continued in the paddock this afternoon with approximately 150 journalists turning up to join the Frenchman on his landmark race. Even Renault driver Jarno Trulli who is a long-time friend of Olivier came along. Olivier was presented with a cartoon-style painting by Panasonic Toyota Racing advisor Ove Andersson. The team also distributed limited edition 150th GP caps and miniature helmets to commemorate the occasion. A competition launched at the Nurburgring offered journalists the chance to submit a 150-word story on Olivier. The winning entry was written by Danish journalist Peter Nygaard and reads as follows:

"Pure Panis

If you want a single moment which captures the essence of Olivier PanisL 150 Grands Prix forget about the second place at Hockenheim in his debut season in 1994. Forget about the terrible leg-but-not-confidence-braking crash in Montreal in 1997. Even try to forget that fully deserved win in Monaco in 1996. And think of the party Panasonic Toyota Racing organised to celebrate his first 10 years in F1 at Magny-Cours last year. This was pure Olivier: Happy relaxed - and most important: With his family. Anne was there and two of the coupleLs three children; celebrating Daddy and having a good time. Think of how many people who turned up from other teams; underlining the fact the Olivier is one of those rare creatures in the paddock who has no enemies. Think of a very normal guy who just happens to be a hell of a racing driver..."