Sunday March 17th, 2002

Scot Allan McNish was happy after completing his first ever Grand Prix on Sunday, finishing in seventh place at the Sepang circuit.

"Obviously I am pretty happy considering where we started on the grid," said Toyota driver McNish, making his Formula One debut this season. "The car felt more comfortable to drive - a lot more than it was in qualifying and on Friday.

"Today I was able to race with cars that I didn't think I'd be racing with at this stage. We can now look ahead to Brazil with a lot more confidence."

McNish had to retire from the Australian Grand Prix two weeks ago after being involved in the first corner accident, and ran in the points in Malaysia until he made his second pitstop, which took a long time to complete.

Teammate Mika Salo also had problems with his Toyota and despite running as high as fifth in today's race, the Finn had to be content with a 12th position.

"It was a reasonable day," said the Finn. "The early laps were very good and I was keeping up easily with the guys in front of me and making some passes. I had an electronic problem with the traction control after the first pitstop, which ruined my race really. But it is encouraging to see our two cars finish and good for the team."

Published at 10:57:12 GMT