Toyota expects Sepang upturn

Large changes to the team's TF104 are planned for later races, and a B-spec version is scheduled for the British GP, but in the meantime Toyota is to introduce a new front wing among other aerodynamic improvements for Sepang in attempt to regain some of the ground lost to F1's other factory teams.

"We are bringing a new front wing and new turning vanes to Sepang," said Toyota's technical director Mike Gascoyne. "These are designed to maximise our aerodynamic performance at a track, which theoretically, should be more suited to the TF104 than Albert Park was.

"We are entering the Malaysian Grand Prix in a positive frame of mind, although the debut race of the year in Australia did not reflect where we had initially hoped to be in terms of our competitiveness. Nevertheless, we have everything already in place to make constant improvements during the course of the season.

"The long straights will benefit our engine, which has already proven itself as one of the best in F1, and the traditionally hot weather conditions should also play into
the hands of our tyre supplier Michelin."

Olivier Panis, who finished 13th and two laps down in Australia, also reckons that Toyota may have a better chance of a respectable finish in the heat of Malaysia. "After the results from Australia," said the Frenchman, "everyone in the team has rolled their sleeves up and is working hard to try and turn things round.

"Our development plan is quite intensive and both of our test drivers, Ricardo [Zonta] and Ryan [Briscoe], have also been hard at work in Valencia in preparation for Malaysia. We expect to have some new aerodynamic parts for the coming race and I am feeling psychologically and physically very strong entering the weekend."

Team-mate da Matta is hoping the strength of the Toyota engine on Sepang's long straights will help the car overcome any chassis deficiencies that currently hamper it. "I think the circuit's characteristics should suit our car a little better than Albert Park," he said. "The track is faster and more flowing with two long straights, which put more emphasis on engine performance, an area in which we have been quite strong.

"We have some new aero parts coming for this race, which will hopefully help us out a bit, but the bigger developments will not be ready until the start of the European season. For the Malaysian Grand Prix, we will just concentrate on doing the job in hand and see what we can bring home on Sunday afternoon."