Toyota Boss Reveals Details on Race Simulation

Toyota boss Ove Andersson revealed this weekend the team have already run a full race weekend simulation last September, when the team were testing at the Austrian A1-Ring circuit.

Toyota, who will be entering Formula One for the first time in the 2002 season, have tested throughout 2001 on 11 of the 17 tracks used on the F1 calendar. But Andersson now says the team were able to simulate full qualifying and race conditions at the A1-Ring, adding that the simulation did not go without problems.

"In qualifying, we were three seconds from pole," Andersson told Britain's News of the World. "But we lost fuel pressure on one car (Allan McNish's, on lap 33) in the race and had exhaust trouble on the other (Mika Salo retired on lap 50)."

The Swede summarised by saying, "at a test, they usually have all the time in the world to repair the car and think about things - but that's not how it is in reality. We did okay."