Da Matta Delighted with Strong Opening Day

Brazilian Toyota driver Cristiano da Matta was delighted with the start of his Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit.

Da Matta, the current CART champion, put on the best qualifying performance of his rookie season with the Japanese squad, posting an impressive fourth fastest time only behind the two Ferraris and the Williams of pace-setter Juan Pablo Montoya.

"I am very happy with my qualifying time," said da Matta. "Since the first few laps this morning we have been more confident than we were at the test last week. I want to thank the engineers, who have all done a good job over the weekend to study the data from last week and to make the car stronger.

"It makes a difference to have driven the three days last week, because I have not had to spend time learning the track this morning and I have been able to get a good feeling with the car. Fourth place is certainly a good way to start the weekend."

Da Matta outpaced his French teammate Olivier Panis, who had a troubled day. Panis, who wound up 10th, decided to use his spare car for qualifying after not feeling comfortable with his racing machine.

"It has been a difficult day for me today, but I am generally quite happy with tenth place," said Panis. "I wasn't really comfortable with the car in this morning's session and we had a few small mechanical problems, so I decided to take the T-car for qualifying.

"In the end, there wasn't much difference, but we'll work hard on things tonight to improve the car for tomorrow. On a more positive note, I am pleased for Cristiano - he drove very well today."