Zonta on confidence high
Toyota's Ricardo Zonta heads to Monza this weekend with a spring in his step despite failing to finish the two grands prix he has contested this season, having replaced fellow Brazilian Cristiano da Matta following the German GP
Last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix was particularly painful for the Brazilian. He started from the back of the grid and then suffered an engine failure while running in fourth spot. But Zonta left Spa more relaxed than he had been at his first race for the team in Hungary and with a renewed confidence.
"I have had a very enjoyable time since becoming race driver for Toyota," he said. "When you race, you get more used to it every time and now my confidence is coming back. I was very emotional and a little bit nervous in Budapest, but going into Spa I was a lot calmer and more focused. After a good performance, like we had in Belgium, you start to feel very relaxed in the car."
Zonta tested at Monza last week in preparation for this weekend and believes team has done the necessary work to put it the frame for some points on Sunday.
"On paper, Monza is a circuit that should suit our car," he said. "It's a medium-fast speed track, where the engine makes a difference, so that should help us as the torque of our engine is very good. Having a test session so close to the race weekend enables us to work more closely on set-up and tyre evaluation.
"Olivier (Panis), Ryan (Briscoe) and me completed over 400 laps during the three-day session, which gave us plenty of time to improve the balance and carry out a lot of back-to-back runs looking mainly at tyres and traction control. I hope that our homework and preparation leads to some points for Toyota on Sunday afternoon."
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