Toyota can't stand the heat

The Brazilian finished a lapped 14th, one spot ahead of team-mate Olivier Panis, but the former Champ Car champion was left scratching his head over why the TF104 lacked race pace, finishing ahead only of the Jordans and sole surviving Minardi.

"I think the hot weather was detrimental to us in today's race, particularly in the way our car was set up," said da Matta. "The situation was the same for everyone, but it is apparent from the final results that we suffered a lot more.

"I cannot really pinpoint a specific reason, but the car was simply a lot slower compared to what we showed it could do on Friday and Saturday. The only thing that has been different today is the temperature, but we have to look deeply into the data to see what caused such a big drop off in performance."

Panis said: "I had a problem at the very start of the race when the clutch got stuck and the anti-stall was activated, which is why I lost all the places. That was very painful for me and I am sure also for the team.

"There was one main problem today, namely that we were not quick enough to fight with the cars in front of us. However disappointing today's results are for everyone at Toyota, we must immediately look ahead to Silverstone to keep concentrated, motivated and continue to do our best."