Zonta gutted by late exit

Despite starting from the back of the grid after a disastrous qualifying, Zonta - in only his second race after replacing Cristiano da Matta - enjoyed a solid race and picked off many cars in front of him after steering clear of the chaos at the start. He was chasing Rubens Barrichello's Ferrari for third place when his engine suddenly let go on the long straight before Les Combes.

"With three laps to go, I was certain that we had the car to hold on to fourth position," said Zonta. "This was the chance that I have been waiting for many years, so I am obviously disappointed. I was pushing really hard throughout the race and it was nice to see a Toyota racing with a Ferrari towards the end. In my opinion, the team really demonstrated their potential here in Spa and I am happy with the job that everyone has done all weekend."

Team principal Tsutomu Tomita said: "It was a disappointing final result. To have been in a strong fourth position with just three laps to go and then have an engine failure was extremely cruel. Our engine reliability has been strong all season, so we will look into what caused the failure today."

Panis, who finished eighth, said: "At the start, I hit one of the Saubers in front of me and I had to go back to the pits for a front wing and tyre change. After that I was at the back of the field, but I tried my best to recover the positions. The car ran quite well in the race with no big issues and I was able to make up ground.

"After the safety car periods, it was difficult to heat up the hard compound tyre we had opted to use, so I lost places to Klien and Coulthard. I took one point, which is the positive thing, but it was a day when we really could have scored more."