Toyota salutes 'impressive' Panis
Toyota team chiefs have applauded Olivier Panis's third position on the grid for Sunday's United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis
The French veteran outpaced world championship protagonists Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Schumacher, and will line up behind just Kimi Raikkonen and Rubens Barrichello tomorrow.
"I am speechless!" said team principal Ove Andersson. "In only our 32nd race, we have qualified a Toyota on the second row of the grid after Olivier took third place with a really impressive lap. It was a shame that Cristiano [da Matta] had to jump into the T-car, which almost certainly affected his time, but he drove a solid lap to score ninth and another double top 10 qualifying result for the team.
"The atmosphere in the garage during that session was absolutely remarkable and I have to say a big thank you to all the guys for producing such a fantastic result. The cars have looked competitive since first thing yesterday morning and if luck is on our side tomorrow, we should expect to pick up a few points."
One-time grand prix winner Panis said: "I have not started a race on the second row of the grid since the grand prix in Argentina back in 1997. I am looking forward to having some fun in the race tomorrow alongside some of the most competitive drivers in the field."
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