2003 Season Review: Toyota F1 Drivers

By Toyota F1 Media
October 23 2003

	2003 Season Review: The Drivers Part Two
	Cristiano, what aspects of F1 have made the biggest impression on you? Da Matta: The thing that has impressed me the most is the speed everything happens – the development of every part of the car, from the tyres to the chassis and the aerodynamics. This is really amazing compared to all the series I have raced in before. Every race we have something different on the car and that's what marks the difference in F1. You definitely have to pay more attention to the development of the car. On the other hand, in other series, because you cannot play with things, there is more development on the set-up side. Definitely the car is a much bigger thing in F1 and there are so many more areas to work in. Cristiano, what you think of the difference in driving standards between CART and Formula 1? Da Matta: I think the fairness in Formula 1 is good and that was well taken care of in CART too. Every time you did something crazy it was not like F3000 or F3. The level is hard to judge because in CART you run very similar cars to everyone but here you are never going to be able to judge against whoever has a better car. But there are a lot of good drivers here, for sure. Olivier, how did you find left-foot braking for the first time this year? Panis: Well, this is very bizarre because I never used my left foot for many years, particularly for heavy braking, but this year I didn't have any choice, due to the tightness of the cockpit around the pedals, with the room needed for the steering column. I am using it now and at the end of the year I feel like I've driven for 10 years like this. I don't have any complaints about it. Of course I did karting, which is left-foot braking, but then in F3 I was braking with my right foot because you had a clutch. It seemed more natural to use the right but this year, as I say, there was no choice. I needed 10 laps and then I felt like I'd been doing it all the time. Looking back at the season, what were your personal highs and lows? Panis: I feel frustrated not to have scored more points because we had the chance to. But on the other hand I'm positive about the job we did as a team. We pushed hard in qualifying and worked really well with the new rules for most of the time. From the speed point of view I'm quite happy. It's never enough until you win a race but I think we are heading in a good direction. The most disappointing race was Indianapolis, when we'd qualified extremely well in third and then we made the wrong pit call. As soon as I went out on wet tyres and realised the rain was not getting heavier, I knew any chance of a good result was all over. Da Matta: The high point for me was just getting used to everything and getting adapted to F1. Leading Silverstone for 17 laps was the time that I enjoyed most. Qualifying in Suzuka was also very special because it was Toyota's home race, and although we went out for our runs before the rain came down, it was really thrilling to qualify third. I wasn't mentally prepared to be in the post-session press conference, which was a new experience, but one, which I hope to get used to next year! The low point, definitely, was when I was getting lapped in Brazil. I know I'm not that bad in the rain, but things were made even worse because it was my first home race in F1. Is it easier to make progress with a car over the winter or during the season? Panis: When I compare to some teams I have driven with before, I feel that Toyota has made a big improvement during this season. I think that after Silverstone where we had the new aero package, we have been trying to improve all the time, working really hard with Ricardo too, and I think what we have achieved during the season is impressive. Da Matta: Over the winter, it appears that you make more progress because the car is new and the margin for development is bigger, but at the same time you have to keep up momentum during the season. If you don't then you fall back. We dropped back a little at the start of the European season at Imola and Austria, but in the second half of the season, we really made steps forward at every race. One thing I learned very quickly is that development in Formula 1 has to be continuous. Zonta: The development of the car is essentially the main part of my job as third driver. We have had a busy test schedule this season and completed a lot of kilometres in order to keep up the progress. We have run two test teams this year, dividing the jobs up into long-term development and more race-specific preparation. This division of jobs has worked well, and I think this has been reflected in the competitiveness of the car in the second half of the season. Looking at the team overall, where can the most progress be made? Panis: I think everybody has learned a lot and the team stability is improving. We still need to improve a lot but everybody is pushing towards it. The work of the team at the track and at the factory in Cologne has been one of the things that have impressed me most about Toyota. Da Matta: As a team, we have grown considerably this season, but we have to constantly evaluate everything we do in order to improve in all areas. Toyota's philosophy is all about continuous improvement, which is so important in F1. We have set very solid foundations for ourselves this season, but we now have to build further on these in 2004 and from there I am sure the results will come. Zonta: We are still a young team and we still have to improve operationally. Having said that, we worked well together this year, but when we are even better at that we will go quicker. This year, we tested a lot and learned a lot and for next year we know what we need and I think it will be a lot easier. We know the two race drivers, so there will be continuity and the team will be used to working with them. Continue to Part Three