20/07/2004

Grand Prix of Germany - Selected Preview Quotes

Cristiano da Matta - Race Driver Car Number 16
"Everyone at Panasonic Toyota Racing is really looking forward to racing our new TF104B race car at this weekend's German Grand Prix. There has been a lot of pressure on the team to produce a quicker car but everyone working at the factory has put a lot of effort into the TF104B so we're hoping for a reasonable jump in performance. Last year the Hockenheimring was a track that suited our car - we qualified in the top ten and both cars finished in the top six. It was our best result of the year as a team so I enjoyed it a lot. Now we hope the TF104B comes out as we have targeted and we can start to aim for more results like that."

Olivier Panis - Race Driver Car Number 17
"Personally I am hoping for something of a turnaround of fortune with the debut of our TF104B race car at this weekend's German Grand Prix. A lot of hard work has gone into producing this car so I would take this opportunity to thank every single member of the team for their individual contribution. We had a shakedown of the chassis at last week's test in Jerez but most parts will only be run for the first time in Hockenheim so we were unable to assess the car's true performance level. In addition to the chassis and aerodynamic upgrades we also have a new spec engine for Hockenheim so as a package I am confident that we will make a good step forward."

Tsutomu Tomita - Team Principal
"One of my personal highlights of last season was our strong performance at the Hockenheimring where we saw our cars finish in 5th and 6th places in front of our Toyota Motor Corporation President Mr. Cho. This weekend will see the debut of our revised TF104B car with improved aerodynamics and a new specification engine so I hope that we will be able to achieve a similar result to 2003. Formula 1 is constantly progressing so to maintain momentum throughout the season we have to make improvements at each race weekend. The TF104B is just one step forward for Panasonic Toyota Racing. We are already looking much longer-term with the creation of next year's car the TF105 but we will do this in parallel to further evolutions of the TF104B over the remaining races of this season."

Mike Gascoyne - Technical Director Chassis
"We used last week's test in Jerez to shake down the chassis of the new TF104B car. Most of the parts that make a difference to the lap time will appear for the first time this weekend. We know from simulations what kind of step we could make but we have to wait until Friday to see how the data translates to the track. The German Grand Prix will be something of a test session for us as we establish a baseline of the TF104B's potential. The car has an upgraded aero package as well as a substantially repackaged chassis with lower weight and centre of gravity. The debut of the TF104B now marks the start of a renewed development process for Toyota which will take us to the last race of the season in Brazil."

Luca Marmorini - Technical Director Engine
"As part of the TF104B package that will race at Hockenheim for the first time this weekend we have worked tremendously hard in the engine department to incorporate a new specification RVX-04 engine. This spec was originally intended for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza but we have pulled out all the stops to introduce the new version three races earlier than planned. We have run extensive tests in the dyno to ensure our excellent reliability rate continues whilst introducing a performance increase of around 2%. The TF104B as a chassis-engine package should be a good performance gain for Toyota. As the youngest team in F1 we should all be proud of what we have been able to achieve in such a short space of time."