Disappointed Panis Looking Forward to Italian GP

Olivier Panis is already looking forward to the Italian Grand Prix in three weeks time after retiring from today's race in Hungary.

The Frenchman's race came to an end on lap 34 when gearbox gremlins forced him to retire during his second scheduled pitstop. The Toyota driver, however, is aiming to return to form at the Monza race, where he expects the Japanese squad to be able to shine.

"Understandably, we are all a little bit disappointed," said Panis. "I came in for my second stop and when I went to drive away I heard a noise and knew instantly what had happened. Of course, these things can happen sometimes, but we need to find out exactly what went wrong.

"I am looking forward to the Italian Grand Prix because Monza is a track that should suit our car, and I believe we should be in a strong position to pick up points there."

Cristiano da Matta, meanwhile, apologised to his Toyota team after stalling on the grid at the start of the race. The Brazilian went on to finish in 11th place two laps down.

"Firstly, I want to apologise to the team for stalling on the grid," said da Matta. "From 15th, I was looking for a good start, however I got on the launch button a bit too quickly. I hit the brakes to avoid jumpstarting but there was not enough time for the anti-stall to kick in.

"The team got me started again in the pitlane, but by that point I was over a lap down and I had to really push hard to make up ground. The car's balance was still towards the oversteer side, but the overall grip was good, so I am naturally disappointed with this result."