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Full name

Panasonic Toyota Racing

Base

Cologne, Germany

Team principal

Tadashi Yamashina

Senior General Manager

Pascal Vasselon

Race drivers

Jarno Trulli

Timo Glock

Test drivers

Kamui Kobayashi

Chassis

Toyota TF109

Engine

Toyota RVX-09

Tyres

Bridgestone

Debut

2002 Austrlian Grand Prix

Constructors’ Championships

0

Drivers’ Championships

0

2008 position

5th (56 points)

Toyota announced their plans to participate in F1 in 1999, and after extensive testing with their TF101 initial car, the team made their debut in 2002. The new team has grown from Toyota’s long standing European Toyota Motorsport organisation, which has previously competed in the World Rally Championship and the 24 hours of Le Mans. Despite a point in their first ever race, Toyota F1 have not yet won a grand prix, their best finish being a couple of 2nd place finishes during the 2005 season, when it achieved three podiums and a pole position, as well as finishing fourth in the world constructors’ championship with 88 points.

Toyota has drawn criticism for their lack of results, especially after the 2006 Formula One season, in which the team’s best result was 3rd place in the Australian Grand Prix. Toyota is an extremely well funded team, being a big manufacturer, and despite this coupled with their huge ambitions, strong results have never been consistent.

The team’s drivers in 2007 were Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher. Schumacher was not signed to continue for the 2008 season. The team tried to sign up double world champion Fernando Alonso, but the Spaniard declined. The team have signed reigning GP2 Champion Timo Glock for 2008. Overall Toyota powered cars had been on various Formula One podiums 12 times.

This page is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Toyota Racing”