2003 Season Review: Toyota F1 Drivers


2003 Season review

By Toyota F1 Media
October 23 2003

The Toyota F1 drivers have their say as to how they saw the 2003 Formula One season. They talk of the strengths and weaknesses of the Toyota F1 team and the TF103. They also look forward to 2004 and the season to come.

 
2003 Season Review: The Drivers Part One
 
2003 - 16 races, 2 TF103s, 32 entries, 17 laps in the lead, 19 top ten qualifying performances, 5 double top ten grid results, 6 visits to the top 6 of the grid, 16 championship points, 2 post-qualifying FIA press conferences, 3 drivers, 1 team, 1 aim, 1 season.

Toyota F1 TeamPanasonic Toyota Racing ended its second season in Formula 1 on a high note scoring two more championship points in front of its home crowd in Suzuka.

Race drivers Olivier Panis and Cristiano da Matta are joined by third driver Ricardo Zonta to openly assess the team's performance in 2003, talking about the highs, the lows, the car, the team, effects of the weather and the future.

How would you assess the Toyota TF103 - it's strengths and weaknesses?

Olivier Panis: I have to say that the first time I tested the car I was very impressed by the potential compared with last year's car. I think we were happy during the winter tests, looking competitive – better aero, better mechanics, better engine. For me the weak point has been the inconsistency during the season. At some places we were quick and some places we were not, but I think we have learned a lot and have some good pointers for next year. The engine is one of the best I have ever driven, and I hope with the new rules next year that say we have to use just one engine over three days, we can maintain the power output and keep the reliability.

Cristiano da Matta: I agree with Olivier, the consistency was our biggest enemy this year. At some places, for no particular reason, we weren't good enough and could never relate one thing to another to understand why. I think one of the positive points has been our engine, which has been incredibly reliable throughout the season. All in all, we have a very good base from which we can create a well-rounded competitive car for next season.

Ricardo Zonta: Compared to the old car the TF103 is a big improvement. We improved the aerodynamics a lot. There are still some problems with traction and pitch sensitivity but it has been improved a lot throughout the season. Traction is really down to suspension improvement and corner entry stability is more down to aerodynamics.

Has the car achieved what you thought or did you expect better results?

Toyota F1 DriversPanis: I think what we didn't achieve is to translate the competitiveness of the car into good points-scoring results. Many things happened to show we were quite quick but then we had some hard times, like Imola, Monaco and Austria, but everybody in the team worked very hard to improve the car and show we were on the right path. We managed to improve the car a lot during the season. If people say we were quick during the winter tests but then didn't prove ourselves, it's true, but for a variety of reasons. Did I expect better race results? Yes, of course, but I think we demonstrated that the car was quick and that we have the potential for future seasons. What we achieved in Hockenheim with Cristiano and me in the top six was what we should have achieved in most races this year. Our qualifying performance was very encouraging. In only two races, did we not have a TF103 in the top ten on the grid, and in Indianapolis and Suzuka we qualified on the second row. For a team in its second season, this sort of performance is highly commendable.

Da Matta: Personally, it was always going to be a tougher season because I was coming into a new series for me with many circuits of which I had no prior knowledge. On most occasions, I only had one hour of free practice on Friday morning before having to qualify. That was tough, but if you look at the results from circuits where I had driven before, I think I showed my true ability. Overall, I believe we deserved more in terms of results, but we have learned a lot during the year and we should be in very good shape for next season.

Zonta: Particularly if you look at some circuits like Indianapolis or Barcelona, we were very competitive, but at other places it was difficult to find a direction. Perhaps we need to work more toward finding the best balance for each individual Grand Prix, because sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not. From a results point of view, I think we did very well in qualifying, but for one reason or another, we just could not pick up as many points as we would have liked.

Olivier, you have a lot of experience of different F1 cars, where would you put the TF103?

Panis: On occasions this year, the TF103 has really impressed me and it has looked highly competitive, for example at Barcelona, Indy, and Silverstone. You sometimes feel really good pushing to the maximum but you don't know why you are a little bit away. It is something that we have to work on and improve over the winter, but I expect next year's TF104 to be capable of scoring points regularly, and who knows what else could come?

Cristiano, you led the British GP for 17 laps. Was the car especially good there?

Da Matta: Silverstone was one of the circuits that really suited the TF103 and certainly one of the year's highlights. We tested there a few weeks' before the race and we went there knowing that the car was going to be competitive. I led the race benefiting from some extraordinary incidents on the track, which brought the safety car out. Of course, I have led races before, but it was a special feeling to be leading an F1 race for the first time in my rookie year.


Was the team's strong performance at the Spanish GP the result of a lot of testing at the Barcelona circuit?

Panis: Our success in Spain was not entirely down to the fact that we tested a lot there. It is more relative to the circuit and the overall package -- the aerodynamics you have and the stability of the car. I tell you, when I see the resources we have, the factory we have and the people we have, we can definitely improve all the time. It is unbelievable everything Toyota has done this season – not just at Barcelona.

Da Matta: Toyota is still a young team with only two years of F1 experience. Barcelona was the first race of the year where everything ran smoothly for us during the entire weekend. I do not think we can attribute our 6th-place in Spain purely to testing because every team tests at Barcelona. It was simply that all the pieces of the puzzle came together, like at Hockenheim and Silverstone. It is the sort of performance that we should be aiming for at every race in 2004.

Zonta: We do a lot of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya and I think all testing work is beneficial regardless of whether it is successful or not. There is no substitute for mileage and data, however Barcelona is a common testing location, so all teams start the weekend with a good idea of set-up. In my opinion, our pre-season testing there helped to an extent, but the smooth operations of the team over the weekend played a big part.

Continue to Part Two
 
 
Totally ToyotaF1

Bookmark or share this story with: