Tuesday March 26th, 2002

Toyota boss Ove Andersson has insisted in playing down the expectations created by the Japanese squad after two strong performances in the first two races of 2002.

The Cologne-based team, making their Formula One debut this year, have surpassed their initial expectations after scoring their first point with a sixth place finish in Australia. They also ran strongly in Malaysia two weeks ago, although Allan McNish and Mika Salo finished outside the points.

But despite their promising pace so far, Andersson is refusing to get carried away, and just hopes to continue moving forward at this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, despite never having tested at the Interlagos circuit before.

"More than ever, my job is to pour water on everyone's expectations at each race," said Andersson. "We are performing better than we expected at this stage of the programme, but I don't want people to expect too much. Look at Brazil next weekend: we have not tested there, so we have a steep learning curve.

"Having said that, I am very pleased with the progress we are making. We took a big step forward in the way that we work in Malaysia and, if we make similar progress in Brazil, I'll be happy."

Salo, a surprising sixth in the team's first outing in Australia this month, has not raced at Interlagos since 1998 but says Toyota should do well there.

"Power is important - and I think our engine is okay," Salo said. "The car deserved points in Malaysia, so I hope I can put that right here."

Salo qualified 10th in Malaysia two weeks ago and ran in the top six before being slowed by technical problems. His teammate Allan McNish finished seventh.

The Finn came fifth at Interlagos with Tyrrell in 1996 but his last appearance in 2000 was curtailed when Sauber pulled out after qualifying for safety reasons.

Published at 09:53:33 GMT