Mika Salo will be competing in a landmark race this weekend in Monaco, his 100th Grand Prix. And the Finn is looking to continue his excellent record at the Principality with a points finish.
The veteran Salo, who is competing for the new Toyota squad this year and has already scored two points for it in Australia and Brazil, has finished in the points four times in six appearances at Monte Carlo.
‘One hundred races - that must make me very old!’ laughed Salo this week. ‘To be honest, it feels more like 10. It's nice that I celebrate my 100th in Monaco because this is a race that I really enjoy. The track is very challenging and the driver can still make a real difference, even with all the electronics that we have on the cars these days.
‘Our TF102 isn't ideally suited to Monaco but, if we can get to the end of the race, then we should be in with a chance of a points finish.’
Salo said competing at Monaco was all about momentum; making a mess of things early in the piece tends to have a domino effect on the rest of the weekend.
‘The most important thing about Monaco is not to hit anything - not even on the first day,’ said the 35-year-old. ‘If you hit something early on in the weekend, it's hard to get the momentum back.
‘There are lots of tricky places on the lap, where you have to be careful: the entry and exit of Casino Square, the chicane, and the Swimming Pool is very quick. The thing about Monaco is that every corner counts and, for a driver, there is no time to rest. That makes for a long 78 laps on race day.’
Salo’s team-mate Alan McNish will be making his first appearance at Monaco. The 32-year-old said he had been experiencing the layout in a road car.
‘I've never driven at Monaco, so the first session is going to be spent getting to know the track,’ commented the Scot. ‘I live in Monaco, so I can assure you that I've done plenty of laps in a road car, but it will feel totally different in an F1 car.
‘As a rule, I enjoy street tracks, so I'm looking forward to the challenge. We've found reliability over the past couple of races, so let's hope that this continues this weekend.’
Toyota Team President Ove Andersson said he had been pleased with both cars finishing in Austria, but stressed that Monaco would chiefly be a learning experience for the Cologne outfit.
‘I was pleased with our performance in Austria,’ said the Swede. ‘In a race of high attrition we did a good job to get both cars to the end of the race.
‘As for Monaco, it's difficult to know what to expect because we have never been there before. More than anything, this weekend is going to be about gaining experience at a difficult circuit.’
