Ove Andersson Q&A
Great things were expected from Toyota this season, and low fuel loads helped Olivier Panis to qualify fifth in Melbourne and sixth in Barcelona. However unreliability and sheer bad luck have restricted the results, and the team's form has been unpredictable. Eight races in the team has managed just two points finishes, with Cristiano da Matta taking sixth in Spain and Olivier Panis eighth place in Montreal. Adam Cooper asked team boss Ove Andersson for his thoughts on the year to date.
"I think under normal circumstances to achieve a point in this very competitive field is a very good achievement. That's my judgement of the situation! Ferrari, Williams, McLaren and even Renault are very, very strong at the moment, and you should not forget Jaguar. It's very competitive and to get a point is an achievement for everybody in the team."
"When the car and the team and everything is working, I think we are basically where we can expect to be. Everyone has made big steps forward over last year. We've made a lot of progress over last year but ultimately we are always chasing a moving target. We are closer to the front in terms of times than we were last year, but obviously it's not easy."
"It's a bit of everything. One of the things we are lacking is experience when it comes to setting the car up and so on. That's where we basically have a lot to learn, to use the car more effectively. Then it's a question of working on aerodynamics and everything that's related to it."
"This is where our inexperience comes into the picture. It seems that if we have the car reasonably okay on Friday morning, we are able to manage well. If we are off on Friday morning it's like chasing a shadow the whole weekend, and we never really catch up."
"No it doesn't. These two hours on Friday morning obviously would help a lot for the individual race, but on the other hand we would fall back on the general development, I suppose. We knew this and we took the decision to test as much as possible and learn as much as possible, but race by race that Friday two hours might have helped."
"That I'm not so sure about at all, but there might be some changes coming."
"Michelin are very strong in the dry, as Canada showed. If it is wet, then Bridgestone is miles ahead."
"Suzuka for sure is really where all the pressure comes on full power! Sure Nurburgring is a local race, but it's a pity we can't test..."
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