Toyota duo debut

Toyota's preparations for the 2003 season began in earnest today as Olivier Panis and Cristiano da Matta made their official debut for the team. Panis was given the responsibility of testing an interim TF102B chassis while Da Matta settled into his new environment with the 2002 TF102.

"For this first day I concentrated on just learning the car and working with the team," said Panis. "Throughout the day we worked on improving my seat fitting and generally setting the car up to suit me. Overall it was a good day, constructive and positive. I tried to push a bit more towards the end of the session and I have a good initial feeling for the car. We will now sit down to discuss ways to improve the car and to set tomorrow’s programme."

Cristiano da Matta commented, "We had a few little problems throughout the day, and I only managed to complete half the number of laps we had planned. However, this was my first real contact with the car, the team and this track. The afternoon was spent mainly doing in-and out laps but as the session progressed I was feeling more at home with the car.

"After the last CART race, testing the TF102 felt a bit different," he added, "but it is only a matter of time before I settle in fully."