Panis retires from F1

Former grand prix winner and veteran test driver Olivier Panis will retire from Formula 1 driving duties at the end of the 2006 season so that he may concentrate on racing again.

The 40-year-old Frenchman, whose only win came at Monaco in 1996, quit racing for Toyota two years ago, but remained on the Japanese giant’s testing roster alongside Ricardo Zonta.


But now Panis has decided to leave F1 altogether and is believed to be on a shortlist of drivers wanted by Peugeot to head up its new assault on the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours race in France.


"Toyota has made much progress and I am happy to have been a part of this,” said the former Ligier, Prost, McLaren and BAR-Honda driver.


“The team was always very motivated and still is. I am really positive about the job the whole team has done and will miss everyone I have worked with, yet I know that it is time for me to move on and fulfil my wish to race again.


“I am looking forward to new racing challenges outside Formula 1 but I will keep a close eye on Toyota's performance and hope they achieve all the success they deserve."


Team principal Tsutomu Tomita paid tribute to the French veteran, adding that his depth of experience and technical knowledge had played an enormous part in Toyota’s rise up the grid in recent years.


"His technical experience and human qualities greatly contributed to our team development as much as to the improvement of its overall performance,” said Tomita.


“We understand and accept his desire to continue racing. We thank him for sharing his know-how and will support him in whatever he chooses to do."


Panis’s announcement means that Toyota’s testing squad will have a new look to it now that Zonta has also left the team to join Renault.


Former Renault test driver and Super Aguri Friday man Franck Montagny is expected to be confirmed at Toyota shortly.




LS's Tip of the week
ESSENTIAL OILS aren't essential unless you're an engine, a gearbox or a twat

Good for Panis, i always thought he was a good driver who possibly could have possibly gone on to greater things had it not been for his crash in Canada '97.

wow, i didnt realise he was still IN F1!?

good luck to him in whatever he does, but he should be called 1-time GP winner. if the racing dries up, there's always more Highlander films he could make.

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RIP Jules, never to be forgotten. #KeepFightingMichael

If he didnt crash in 1997 who knows. He could have been a world Champion or something.
He certainly would have had an even stronger 1997. As shown by Trulli performance @ Austria and a few other tracks

Yeah, wasn't he 3rd in the championship by the time they got to Canada in 1997?

a driver that could have done so much better had he been with the right teams.

but at least he won a race and at monaco

"Panis retires from F1"


ABOUT TIME

Wow, didn't realize he was 40 already!