Disappointing pre-qualifying for Toyota in Malay

Fastest for Toyota
By Huw Alban (21/03/03)
March 21 2003

Cristiano da Matta was the surprise for Toyota today, recording the 11th fastest lap time in pre-qualifying at Sepang today. Both drivers struggled with setup, and Olivier Panis finished a disappointing 14th.

"The qualifying session today was not too bad for me. It is my first time driving at the Sepang track, so I still have some room for improvement with my driving style here, but it's a track I really enjoy," Cristiano da Matta said after the two sessions today. "The first qualifying session for me is always a difficult one because I only have the one-hour free practice in the morning to learn the circuit. Today, we got the balance of the car as close as we could, but tomorrow is another day and I am looking forward to it."

14th is not where you would expect to see Olivier Panis, and he was not a happy man when he spoke to the Toyota press office. "It has not been a fantastic day to be honest. We experienced some set-up problems in free practice and in the qualifying, so we have a lot of work to do this evening and in the sessions tomorrow to find the best set-up on the car," he said. "The main problem today was the grip level, which was not particularly good all day, so we need to improve that for tomorrow. I remain positive though, as I am sure we have some things to play with to find the best solution for second qualifying."

Chief designer, Gustav Brunner, agrees. "We have a little bit of set-up work to do. Today we had too much oversteer and too much jumping over the bumps, but we have one-and-a-half hours tomorrow to find a cure for this, so I am still sure we can make a few places up in tomorrow's qualifying and get both cars in the top ten."

Full table of times from pre-qualifying in Malaysia:

P Driver Team Engine Car Tyre Best Lap Gap

1 M Schumacher Ferrari Ferrari F2002 B 1:34.980 -.---
2 Barrichello Ferrari Ferrari F2002 B 1:35.681 0.701
3 Montoya Williams BMW FW24 M 1:35.939 0.959
4 Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes MP4-17D M 1:36.038 1.058
5 Coulthard McLaren Mercedes MP4-17D M 1:36.297 1.317
6 Trulli Renault Renault R23 M 1:36.301 1.427
7 Heidfeld Sauber Petronas C22 B 1:36.407 1.635
8 Frentzen Sauber Petronas C22 B 1:36.615 1.652
9 Button BAR Honda BAR005 B 1:36.632 1.713
10 Alonso Renault Renault R23 M 1:36.693 1.713
11 da Matta Toyota Toyota T103 M 1:36.706 1.726
12 Fisichella Jordan Ford EJ13 B 1:36.759 1.779
13 R Schumacher Williams BMW FW24 M 1:36.805 1.825
14 Panis Toyota Toyota TF103 M 1:36.995 2.015
15 Villeneuve BAR Honda BAR005 B 1:37.585 2.605
16 Webber Jaguar Jaguar R4 M 1:37.669 2.689
17 Firman Jordan Ford EJ13 B 1:38.240 3.260
18 Verstappen Minardi Cosworth PS03 B 1:38.904 3.924
19 Wilson Minardi Cosworth PS03 B 1:39.354 4.374
20 Pizzonia Jaguar Jaguar R4 M -:--.--- -.---