By TTF1
March 1 2005

Ralf Schumacher will be driving car number 17 for the first time in race conditions this weekend, but what does he think the team's chances are of a good result? Ralf, what are your impressions heading into the first race of your first season with Toyota?
Certainly the start of the season is always exciting because it's the first time that teams find out where they really stand. There are a lot of unknowns, and there's always the question of whether or not you make it through the weekend without too many technical problems. I also enjoy visiting the country itself, so it all combines to make the Australian Grand Prix a great event. The fact that I am making my debut for Panasonic Toyota Racing only serves to make it more special.

Being a street circuit, the Albert Park track is often quite dirty. How much of an impact do you think that could have on the new cars and the new tyres?
From what we have seen so far in testing, warming up the tyres has been a little bit difficult, so I am sure it will be an interesting factor when we come to Melbourne. It is not usually very warm during the race weekend and it is a dirty track, so it could be really difficult to find the grip, especially in the first lap of qualifying.

How have your preparations gone over the winter and what are Panasonic Toyota Racing's realistic expectations for Melbourne?
Here at Toyota we have been testing a lot and very hard, so I think we are well prepared for the first race. At the moment we have to expect a good, solid finish in the points. That is what we must aim for, but we will have to wait and see where we line up against the other teams. Until we hit the track, no team really knows their comparative competitiveness.