Da Matta earns best-ever grid slot
Toyota star Cristiano da Matta has achieved the best qualifying result of his Formula 1 career so far at Monaco, with his time in today's (Saturday's) session ensuring he will line up 10th on the grid for tomorrow's race
By contrast, team-mate Olivier Panis struggled to 17th position, out qualifying only the Minardi duo. The Frenchman attributed his poor position to a different strategy.
"I didn't expect to be so high up on the grid, let alone getting my best ever qualifying result of the season," said da Matta. "During the lap, I already felt it was going to be a good one.
"We have made some improvements over the weekend, but there is still a problem with the grip level and we still have a big margin to improve. My driving at this track has been getting better and better and I am very pleased with my lap today."
The decision to run Panis on a different strategy came after the Frenchman struggled in practice this morning. "I was really not happy with the car, so we decided to opt for a strategy that is more focussed towards our performance in the race, rather than in qualifying.
"With this in mind, I am pleased with my qualifying lap and we will wait to see how things turn out tomorrow."
Share Or Save This Story
What McLaren thought of Piastri's explosive F1 Hungarian GP radio outburst
How Norris shrugged off his first-lap error to deliver on McLaren's Hungarian GP pace
BTCC Thruxton: Ingram wins race three despite penalty to cut into Sutton’s lead
New Honda F1 engine to debut in Aston Martin filming day ahead of Dutch GP
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments