Brunner Surprised by Toyota's Pace

The Toyota TF102 car that has impressed so far this year is faster than expected by the Japanese squad, according to the team's chief designer Gustav Brunner.

"We are going quicker than we ever expected and that has taken us a bit by surprise," said Brunner. "I don't think it's down to us; it's because the first three overseas races do not give the other teams the chance to develop their cars at the rate they can when they are back racing in Europe."

Toyota, making their Grand Prix debut this year after carrying out an extensive testing programme in 2001, have surpassed all their expectations, with Finn Mika Salo scoring two points by finishing sixth at the Australian and Brazilian Grands Prix.

However, despite the unexpected pace shown by the Cologne-based squad, Austrian Brunner claims the pressure to perform has not increased.

"We are all very relaxed here," he added. "There is no pressure. Toyota has its clear long-term targets and we will try to keep to them. But, obviously, we want to achieve them sooner-rather-than-later."

Before the start of the season, Toyota claimed that all they wanted was to do a respectable job, but that goal has changed after their strong start of the year, and Brunner said he would be pleased to have a car in the top ten in every of the remaining races.

"In F1 you are always chasing a moving target because everybody else is improving at the same time," Brunner said. "But the next three months should not be so hard to make steps forward because we are still coming from behind.

"The hardest part will be the last section of the season because we will be at a higher level and the improvements will not be so easy. I will be very happy if we can qualify in the top 10 at every race."