Toyota F1 has positive test at Barcelona


Olivier Panis

By Toyota F1 Media
January 24 2004

The Panasonic Toyota F1 team came away from Barcelona, having completed a positive test with drivers saying that the TF104 is an improvement over the TF103. Da Matta would have several technical problems but felt the TF104 was a good step ahead.

 
Barcelona Test Summary
 
Dates: 20-23 January 2004
Location: Circuit de Catalunya, Spain
Drivers: Cristiano da Matta, Ricardo Zonta (20-21), Olivier Panis, Ryan Briscoe (22-23)
Track Length: 4.728km

Olivier Panis
Total laps: 219
Best Lap Time: 1m16.507s
Chassis: TF104/02
"We had two good days on Thursday and Friday with a lot of running. We improved a lot compared to Tuesday and Wednesday in terms of set-up of the car and the lap times. I worked on long runs, tyres and aero tests. It is still early days for the TF104 and we have plenty of room for further development."

Cristiano da Matta
Total laps: 94
Best Lap Time: 1m17.696s
Chassis: TF104/02
"We experienced various small engine and electronic problems during my two days in Barcelona this week, which kept us in the garage for most of the day on Tuesday. Wednesday was much better and we could begin initial set-up work on the new car. We had already run the car at a rollout in Paul Ricard last week and that was like a dream with almost 300 laps completed. The TF104 seems to be a good step ahead compared to the TF103 with better handling and more grip, so now we need to maintain the development in the remaining pre-season tests."

Ricardo Zonta
Total laps: 138
Best Lap Time: 1m17.895s
Chassis: TF103B

Ryan Briscoe
Total laps: 179
Best Lap Time: 1m18.106s
Chassis: TF103B
 
Testing Overview
Driver Chassis Best Lap Laps Working on
Tuesday 20 January - Cloudy, but dry all day
Ricardo Zonta TF103B 1m17.965s 83 Traction control
Engine braking, Electronics
Cristiano da Matta TF104/02 1m18.101s 15 Public debut of TF104
Wednesday 21 January - Dry and sunny, but cold
Cristiano da Matta TF104/02 1m17.696s 79 Initial set-up work on TF104
Ricardo Zonta TF103B 1m17.895s 55 Tyre casings
Thursday 22 January - Dry and sunny, but cold
Olivier Panis TF104/02 1m16.507s 98 Tyre compounds Set-up
Ryan Briscoe TF103B 1m18.106s 62 Traction control
Long runs/tyre tests
Friday 23 January - Dry and sunny, but cold
Olivier Panis TF104/02 1m16.816s 121 Long runs/aero tests
Ryan Briscoe TF103B 1m18.147s 117 Long runs/aero tests
 

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