Panis upbeat for 150th race

"There have been many highs and lows over the course of the 149 races I have driven up to now in my F1 career," said the Frenchman, "but one of the better results I have achieved was in Indy last year, when I put my TF103 third on the grid, which is my joint best ever qualifying result. I am not sure whether we can do the same this weekend, but everyone in the team is aiming to get a good result after the disappointment of Montreal."

The Toyotas were eighth and 10th across the finishline in Montreal (Cristiano da Matta ahead of Panis), but were then excluded from the results for brake duct irregularities. Team principal Tsutomu Tomita is hopeful that his squad can bounce back.

"Our overall performance in the Canadian Grand Prix was good," he said, "and I was satisfied that we got all we could out of the TF104s. Quite simply, I would like to achieve the same level of competitiveness in Indy this weekend and hope to regain the point that we unfortunately lost in Montreal. I believe we can do this, we just have to keep our spirits high and utilise Toyota's renowned fighting spirit."