Panis targets consistency
Olivier Panis believes that Toyota needs to improve its consistency if it is to make further progress up the Formula 1 grid in 2004

This year's TF103 was capable of challenging the front-runners, as Panis and Cristiano da Matta demonstrated when they filled the second row of the grid for the Japanese Grand Prix, but also struggled for place at certain events, with the team at a loss to explain why.
"For me the weak point has been the inconsistency during the season," said Panis. "At some places we were quick and some places we were not, but I think we have learned a lot and have some good pointers for next year.
"I think we have demonstrated that the car was quick and that we have the potential for future seasons. What we achieved at Hockenheim with Cristiano and me in the top six was what we should have achieved in most races this year."
Panis believes that, if Toyota finds consistency, scoring points on a regular basis is a realistic goal.
"On occasions this year, the TF103 has really impressed me and it has looked competitive, for example at Barcelona, Indy and Silverstone. You sometimes feel really good pushing to the maximum but you don't know why you are a little bit away.
"It is something that we have to work on and improve over the winter, but I expect next year's TF104 to be capable of scoring points regularly, and who knows what else could come?"
Latest news
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46B 'fan car' was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Russell: Spa F1 flexi floor clampdown could bring Mercedes into the mix
George Russell hopes the flexi floor clampdown from the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix will bring Mercedes closer to the fight at the front against Ferrari and Red Bull.
F1 Dutch GP 2022: Last chance to be at the Orange Army’s big party
Sought-after tickets are still available for in-demand Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
Shwartzman "excited" for Ferrari FP1 chances after F1 summer break
Robert Shwartzman says he is “a bit excited” for his Formula 1 race weekend debut with Ferrari later this season when he takes part in two practice sessions.
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46B 'fan car' was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Hamilton's first experience of turning silver into gold
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. Back in 2009, McLaren’s alchemists transformed the disastrous MP4-24 into a winning car with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel. And now it’s happening again at his current team, but can the rate of progress be matched this year?
Why few could blame Leclerc for following the example of Hamilton’s exit bombshell
OPINION: Ferrari's numerous strategy blunders, as well as some of his own mistakes, have cost Charles Leclerc dearly in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle in the first half of the season. Though he is locked into a deal with Ferrari, few could blame Leclerc if he ultimately wanted to look elsewhere - just as Lewis Hamilton did with McLaren 10 years prior
The other McLaren exile hoping to follow Perez's path to a top F1 seat
After being ditched by McLaren earlier in his F1 career Sergio Perez fought his way back into a seat with a leading team. BEN EDWARDS thinks the same could be happening to another member of the current grid
How studying Schumacher helped make Coulthard a McLaren F1 mainstay
Winner of 13 grands prix including Monaco and survivor of a life-changing plane crash, David Coulthard could be forgiven for having eased into a quiet retirement – but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, in fact he’s busier than ever, running an award-winning media company and championing diversity in motor racing. Not bad for someone who, by his own admission, wasn’t quite the fastest driver of his generation…
Could F1 move to a future beyond carbonfibre?
Formula 1 has ambitious goals for improving its carbon footprint, but could this include banishing its favoured composite material? PAT SYMONDS considers the alternatives to carbonfibre and what use, if any, those materials have in a Formula 1 setting
How Russell has proven he deserves to be Hamilton's Mercedes heir
He’s fast, he’s smart, and he’s already shown he’s not going to let Max Verstappen intimidate him. George Russell won’t say it, but LUKE SMITH says he’s ready to take the lead at Mercedes when Lewis Hamilton moves on to a quieter life. And – whisper it – Mercedes and Lewis are starting to think so too
The traits that fuelled Alonso's unexpected Aston Martin move
Fernando Alonso’s bombshell switch to Aston Martin sent shockwaves through Formula 1, not least at Alpine that finds itself tangled in a contract standoff with Oscar Piastri. Not shy of a bold career move and with a CV punctuated by them, there were numerous hints that trouble was brewing