Fast da Matta Pleased with Strong Start

Toyota driver Cristiano da Matta was pleased with his performance after impressing in first qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.

Brazilian da Matta, the 2002 CART champion who is one of four Formula One rookies, put Toyota in the thick of things with the fourth best time at the first circuit this season that he is truly familiar with.

"I am very pleased with my qualifying run," admitted da Matta. "It was a good, clean lap and the car performed well. We now have to sit down and find out what areas still need improving before tomorrow's practice and qualifying.

"Overall, I am happy with today's performance and fourth place is definitely good for starters."

Frenchman Olivier Panis completed a positive start for the Japanese outfit, posting the sixth fastest time.

"We didn't manage a lot of things in practice this morning because we had some problems during the session," said Panis. "I am still not a hundred percent happy with the car, but we have the rest of the day to work on this and prepare a bit better for tomorrow.

"Having said that, sixth position is very good for the team and both cars are performing competitively. We also went well here in winter testing, but there are still things to improve on the car and I think we can go even quicker."

Toyota are, together with Minardi and Jaguar, the only team yet to score a point this year.