Mika Salo Q&A

"It was nice to have four or five months' break and not drive anything, because now I really want to drive. It will be very nice. Everything is new - it's a brand new team and a new car, so when it moves for the first time it will be quite exciting."



"Quite a lot of promotions, and flying around in Japan. And a lot of training, actually. I've been doing three months non-stop, so I feel pretty good."



"Very little. Of course I see them. I was in Finland quite a lot in the winter time, and Finland is pretty crazy about F1 at the moment!"



"Not at all. I was thinking that if I was doing all the normal testing I would have had maybe two weeks' break, and then back in the car. So I'm much more relaxed."



"It's difficult to say, because there are a lot of new people. It takes a while to get it working as a complete team. That's the hardest part. Everyone knows what they're doing, but we have to get them to work as a team."



"Every time I go to the factory it makes me more happy. It's such a huge operation. It's made me realise how big the company is. I was in Japan a couple of weeks ago, and we have full support from the head office of Toyota."



"It's huge. I've said that I want to have a scooter there, because it's such a long distance from place to place!"



"He's good. He doesn't know much about the cars, but he knows about the running of the company. He's very good with that, and he listens to what I have to say, even if it's negative."



"We'll run quite a lot in Paul Ricard, but also in many other circuits. We have two test teams. To be honest I don't know if we'll be running with anyone else. I know the schedule, but not who else is there."



"It's open. I think I'll do most of the stuff at Paul Ricard, but also I need to go to other circuits, so we have to swap sometimes."



"I think I'll be quite a lot down there. Nick Heidfeld has taken my apartment in Switzerland. I sold him everything, including the spices in the kitchen!"



"Not really. At the moment it feels quite sad that I'm not driving, but as soon as we start testing, I'll forget it, and I'll be busy with my own stuff."



"I'm only 16!"



"I don't really lose it. I'm sort of putting it in the bank for my future. I think if I had stayed with Sauber I would have lost my motivation, and that probably would have been my last year in F1."



"Well, I qualified ninth last year in Australia, and finished sixth. Then the downhill started."



"It was very disappointing. The team was nice, everything about it was nice, but the fact was that later in the season we just couldn't keep up with the other guys. And we also had problems early in the season with the wings, and that put us back. We couldn't keep up with development so well."



"The fact that I'm not racing is the only part that was difficult. It would have been a dream come true for me if Toyota was racing this year. Then it would have not been difficult at all."



"I heard, and I don't think he should say things like that. I brought them seven points last year in 16 races, and that's seven more than Pedro. And more than their two drivers from the year before together. I gave them everything I could, and they couldn't cope with the stuff. I gave them a lot of ideas, and they didn't do them. Of course it pisses me off if he thinks I didn't give everything. I don't think he meant it, because when I talked to him he was still thanking me about last year."



"I said why don't you try him, because I knew he was good. And they tried him and they liked him. I had met him a couple of times before, but I didn't really know him, I just knew he was really good."



"I'd rather help for free than take 40% of his salary..."



"I knew from the beginning that if they liked him he was going to race - there was no conversation about a test deal at all. The only think I'm surprised about is how cool he has been about everything. The first time he drove the car he was very relaxed, and he was very relaxed in Australia. Now he has to start beating Heidfeld!"



"He's quiet, a normal Finn. When he knows more people he'll be louder, for sure."



"No! I don't know where he's been living. I had a toilet all my life..."



"It was the same with my family. They spent all their money for my go-kart hobby, and it's nice that 27 years later I can buy them the house that they wanted when they were younger."



"It's obviously continuing from last year - nothing has really changed. The tyre situation is interesting. Michelin will catch up soon, and that will make some people look a little better than they actually are."