Formula 1
Japanese GP: Toyota Saturday notes
The Panasonic Toyota Racing team faced a frustrating qualifying session in Suzuka today. Mika Salo qualified for tomorrow's Japanese Grand Prix in 13th place, whilst Allan McNish was unhurt after a collision half-way through the scheduled one-hour ...
Published: Oct 12, 2002, 5:15 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The Panasonic Toyota Racing team faced a frustrating qualifying session in Suzuka today. Mika Salo qualified for tomorrow's Japanese Grand Prix in 13th place, whilst Allan McNish was unhurt after a collision half-way through the scheduled one-hour session and qualified 18th. McNish was able to leave the car on his own and as a precautionary measure was taken to the circuit medical centre by FIA doctor, Professor Syd Watkins. After an examination and an x-ray to his knee, Allan was given the all-clear and it looks likely that he will take part in tomorrow's warm-up session, although a final precautionary check-up will take place on Sunday morning. The team is presently investigating the cause of the accident.
Mika Salo
"I thought we could have gone a bit better around this track. I gave it my absolute maximum but we do not seem to be able to get rid of the understeer on the car. I was going well on my final run but a car ran wide in front of me and I collected some grass on my tyres, losing me a couple of important tenths. All in all disappointing, but I am very pleased to hear that Allan is okay after his crash."
Allan McNish
"First of all, I feel fine. I have had a check-up and my knee is sore, but I am confident of getting back into the car tomorrow morning. Basically, everything felt good through the 130R corner but the car suddenly snapped into a big oversteer and I reversed heavily into the barrier. My natural instinct after the crash was just to make sure everything was still in working order and thankfully it is. I have got to see the medical crew tomorrow morning for a check-up but I am confident for tomorrow. The best thing is to get back in the cockpit as soon as possible."
Keizo Takahashi - Technical Co-Ordinator
"We are all relieved that Allan is okay after his accident. It says a lot for the safety in Formula 1 cars. As for Mika the balance of the car was very good and Mika gave his best effort to improve the performance of his car. We are sure Allan will be all right to race tomorrow. Nothing would make the Japanese fans happier!"
Mika Salo - Car No. 24
Position: 13th, 1m33.742s
12/12 laps completed
Chassis: TF102/07
T-car: TF102/06
Allan McNish - Car No. 25
Position: 18th, 1m35.191s
5/12 laps completed
Chassis: TF102/08
-toyota-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Japanese GP: Sauber Saturday notes
Next article Japanese GP: Williams Saturday notes
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Mika Salo
Which modern Formula 1 driver raced for the most teams?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Which modern Formula 1 driver raced for the most teams?
Salo to race alongside son Max in Fuji 24 Hours
Super Taikyu
Super Taikyu
Salo to race alongside son Max in Fuji 24 Hours
F1 career in numbers: Mika Salo
Formula 1
Formula 1
F1 career in numbers: Mika Salo
More from
Toyota Racing
Toyota: BMW has advantage in Barcelona WEC after private test
WEC
WEC
Barcelona
Toyota: BMW has advantage in Barcelona WEC after private test
Where Sami Pajari can improve after WRC title near miss
WRC
WRC
Rally Italy
Where Sami Pajari can improve after WRC title near miss
Latest news
Ricky Stenhouse explains his side of Michael McDowell conflict
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
2 h
Ricky Stenhouse explains his side of Michael McDowell conflict
Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 3 h
Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test
Why NASCAR is not penalizing Stenhouse, McDowell for post-race theatrics
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
4 h
Why NASCAR is not penalizing Stenhouse, McDowell for post-race theatrics
Dale Jr. explains why he doesn't use 'Earnhardt' in his signature
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 6 h
Dale Jr. explains why he doesn't use 'Earnhardt' in his signature
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe