Salo Expects da Matta to Struggle at Toyota

Mika Salo expects his Brazilian rookie replacement Cristiano da Matta to struggle in his debut season with the Toyota Formula One team.

"I really hope they struggle a lot," Thursday's Autosport magazine quoted the 36-year-old Finn as saying with a smile when asked in an interview how he saw the Japanese team faring next year.

"I think Panis can handle it well because he's got experience from other teams. But I think da Matta will struggle a bit. When he tested for us in the summer he was driving the same day as Allan (McNish) and he was two seconds slower.

"And Paul Ricard is the easiest circuit in the world."

Salo and McNish were both dumped by Toyota, who finished their debut season in Formula One in 10th place with just two points, in favour of BAR's French veteran Olivier Panis and the newly-crowned CART champion da Matta.

The Finn had another year on his contract to run and his departure surprised many in the sport who had expected Toyota to opt for continuity in developing their car.

"I'm happy I'm not there," he said. "I couldn't take that any more, one more year of the same thing."