Formula One news

Cold blights Panis' final test

Olivier Panis brought his F1 career to a close on Thursday running his final laps as test driver for Toyota. Panis has suffered with a cold this week and on Thursday covered just 27 laps. He had a problem with his fuel tank initially and because of his cold, the team decided to put Kohei in the car.

"It was my last day in Formula 1 and I am sure I will miss it but eventually you have to make this decision," said Panis. "I have enjoyed my time in Formula 1, driving these cars, and I have enjoyed my time with Toyota. The team has always been good to me and it has been a great pleasure to work with them. But now is the right time for a change."

"Even though this was my last time in a Formula 1 car, it was still a normal day of testing and in the time I had in the car, we worked on learning about the new tyres for next season," he went on. "I picked up a cold last weekend and I did not feel good today. It's a shame I could not finish the day but that's unfortunately the way it goes sometimes."

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