By Site Staff
February 13 2003

The Toyota F1 Team wrapped up a mammoth 5 day test at Paul Ricard today, during which all three drivers were utilised to make the most of the track time. In total the team have completed nearly 2000km of test running - a sure sign the team are serious in 2003. Olivier Panis took the wheel of two TF103 chassis on Sunday and Monday, and completed over 700km of track time. The Frenchman's focus was durability, and the new TF103 car did not let him down. "It has been a good two-day test for me as we managed to complete the endurance test on schedule," he has been quoted as saying on Toyota-F1.com . "It allowed us to put the car's reliability to the test and the outcome was very satisfactory. It is very encouraging as we get so close to the start of the racing season."

Team mate, Cristiano da Matta , put in three days in just the one TF103 chassis completing 500+km. The Brazilian also worked on reliability, but also put in some time on chassis setup and tyre testing. For da Matta it was all part of the familiarisation exercise, and he is grateful that he is able to have the opportunity to put in so much track time ahead of the season openner. "Everything went fine throughout my three days of running and we could work on pretty much all areas of the car," he was quoted as saying after todyas afternoon session. "I feel much more familiar with the TF103 and my engineering team now. This is a real asset for me to make the most of the two test sessions left before Melbourne."

Development driver, Ricardo Zonta, put in the miles on the final day using the interim chassis and a new TF103. Today was the first time that Zonta was able to get some time in the new car, and his reaction was very positive. "I was happy to get back in the interim car and to continue working on the team's development programme. The fourth and last day was particularly enjoyable for me as I had my first runs in the TF103 and managed many laps. I was very positively impressed with the team's new car and look forward to driving it again."

McLaren-Mercedes were also present through the Paul Ricard test and there have been little in published times. F1-Live.com managed to get hold of the time sheets from Wednesday's test, and for completeness they are presented below.

Paul Ricard - 12/02/2003

1. K. Raikkonen - McLaren-Mercedes - 1'06"425 - 78 laps
2. A. Wurz - McLaren-Mercedes - 1'07"103 - 89 laps
3. D. Coulthard - McLaren Mercedes - 1'07"142 - 51 laps
4. C. Da Matta - Toyota - 1'07"625 - 53 laps
5. R. Zonta - Toyota - 1'09"370 - 67 laps

The team are now preparing for the next three day test at Barcelona which starts on the 18th of February.