Toyota F1 completes Paul Ricard Test


Ricardo Zonta

By Toyota F1 Media
May 15 2004

The Toyota F1 team completed their four day Paul Ricard Test. The team would use both the long & short versions of the track. The short one in preparation for the next race in Monaco, and the longer for Canada and The Nurburgring.

 
Paul Ricard Test Roundup
 
Dates: 11-14 May 2004
Location: Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France
Drivers: Olivier Panis (11-14), Cristiano da Matta (13-14), Ricardo Zonta (11-12)
Track Length: 5.810km (11-12), 4.157km (13-14)


Ricardo ZontaRicardo Zonta
Total laps: 150 (long circuit)
Best Lap Time: 1m32.875s (long circuit)
Chassis: TF104/06
"We had a very constructive first day, working on tyres, software and other small parts. I put in nearly 100 laps of the long version of the Paul Ricard circuit – a total of nearly 600km – before a rain shower ended our day early. On Wednesday the changeable track conditions caused by intermittent rain made it impossible to complete our planned programme. But we still put in some mileage on wet tyres and carried out some work on minor chassis details. Now we will head to Monaco and hope for an improvement in our performance."

 Cristiano da MattaCristiano da Matta
Total laps: 177
Best Lap Time: 1m11.843s (short circuit)
Chassis: TF104/06
"I put in two days at Paul Ricard – all working on the short version of the circuit in preparation for next week's Monaco Grand Prix. On Thursday I worked on suspension and tyre constructions for the twisty Monaco circuit. We had a few problems in the morning, but we started to get some positive results before the weather took a turn for the worse later on. On Friday the weather was kinder and we had a successful day, completing the programme successfully even earlier than we expected."

Olivier PanisOlivier Panis
Total laps: 247
Best Lap Time: 1m11.815s (short circuit), 1m33.165s (long circuit)
Chassis: TF104/02
"This week we had a big Michelin tyre test for the next three races, which all take place within the next month, so I put in a full four days. Early in the week we ran on the long version of the circuit to prepare for Canada and the Nürburgring. On Wednesday and Thursday the weather hindered our progress, and the results weren't entirely clear. On Friday we ran on the short circuit to prepare for Monaco, and that should work out quite well. We have to be realistic, though, so I don't expect Monaco will be our best race of the year. But, like in Barcelona, I'll certainly do my best to qualify as high as possible and finish in the best place I can. If we're quick enough to get as high up the grid as we did in Spain then it will be a good job."
 
Driver Chassis Best Lap Laps Working on

Tuesday 11 May - Overcast for most of the day, with one late rain shower
Ricardo Zonta TF104/06 1m32.875s 99 Tyres, software,
small parts
Olivier Panis TF104/02 1m33.165s 73 Tyres for Montreal
and Nürburgring

Wednesday 12 May - Rain in the morning and a changeable track in the afternoon with intermittent rain
Olivier Panis TF104/02 1m35.132s 34 Tyre constructions
and compounds
Ricardo Zonta TF104/06 1m37.033s 51 Tyres, wet set-ups

Thursday 13 May - Sunny and warm start, turning cloudy with showers in the afternoon
Cristiano da Matta TF104/06 1m11.843s 74 Tyres and suspension
for Monaco
Olivier Panis TF104/02 1m13.391s 52 Tyres

Friday 14 May - Sunny start, becoming cloudy later on with occasional drizzle
Olivier Panis TF104/02 1m11.815s 88 Tyres for Monaco
Cristiano da Matta TF104/06 1m12.045s 103 Tyres and suspension
 

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