25/07/2004

Grand Prix of Germany - Race Round-Up

Olivier Panis (Car 17 Chassis TF104/09B)
Session Classification: 14th +1 lap (from race winner)
Grid: 9th
"I am very disappointed with the problem that I encountered at the start of the race when I stalled on the grid and was forced to start in last place. This year between Cristiano and me we have experienced this type of problem on different occasions. Sometimes drivers make mistakes but because the problem has recurred we should really check carefully to see if there is a related technical problem. The performance of the car actually looked competitive today and we were able to do some very quick laptimes. Now we need to focus on developing the TF104B further and to make further improvements for the upcoming races."

Cristiano da Matta (Car 16 Chassis TF104/10B)
Session Classification: DNF +28 laps (from race winner)
Grid: 15th
"My retirement from today's grand prix was pretty sudden although I had felt an increasing vibration in the rear of the car occasionally during the race. The right-rear tyre suddenly went but it is difficult to know what caused it to blow until we study the data. My start was okay but I soon got stuck in traffic which slowed me down quite a bit. On a positive note the speed of the TF104B seemed quite good in race conditions and generally I am encouraged by the weekend. I think I showed clearly that on full tanks when I wasn't being held up that I could set some highly respectable lap times."

Tsutomu Tomita - Team Principal
"It was a problematic and extremely disappointing race result for Toyota today but I think we can take a lot of positive things away after the first race weekend with our revised TF104B car. We had the pace to score some points today as we can see from setting the fourth fastest lap of the race. Unfortunately our race was over at the beginning when Olivier stalled on the grid. He then lost a lot of time stuck behind backmarkers and was unable to make up enough positions. Cristiano also had a lot of traffic but was forced to retire with a rear tyre puncture the exact cause of which we have to ascertain with Michelin. The TF104B showed a really encouraging pace and both drivers set competitive lap times when they had a clear track. All in all we are disappointed that we could not score the points we deserved but at the same time we should be pleased with the car's performance at this weekend's German Grand Prix."