Toyota: Salo negative, McNish slow.

Toyota boss Ove Andersson [pictured] has revealed for the first time the reasons why his team sacked both of its 2002 drivers - experienced Finn Mika Salo and British F1 rookie Allan McNish, in favour of Olivier Panis and CART champion Cristiano da Matta.

Although McNish's 2003 drive was widely known to be hanging in the balance, it came as something of a shock to many when the Japanese manufacturer announced that it would be terminating the contracts of both drivers early, and making a fresh start.

Toyota: Salo negative, McNish slow.

Toyota boss Ove Andersson [pictured] has revealed for the first time the reasons why his team sacked both of its 2002 drivers - experienced Finn Mika Salo and British F1 rookie Allan McNish, in favour of Olivier Panis and CART champion Cristiano da Matta.

Although McNish's 2003 drive was widely known to be hanging in the balance, it came as something of a shock to many when the Japanese manufacturer announced that it would be terminating the contracts of both drivers early, and making a fresh start.

When asked to explain the decision Andersson told Teletext: "Sometimes Mika [Salo] could be very negative, which wasn't useful. [McNish] did a good enough job to warrant a whole season, but I think it's fair to say that he struggled too much in qualifying."

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