Toyota F1
Encyclopedia : T : TO : TOY : Toyota F1
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| Full name | Panasonic Toyota Racing |
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| Base | Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| Team principal | Tsutomu Tomita |
| Technical director | Pascal Vasselon [link] |
| Race drivers | 7. Ralf Schumacher 8. Jarno Trulli |
| Test drivers | Olivier Panis Ricardo Zonta |
| Chassis | Toyota TF106B |
| Engine | Toyota RVX-06 |
| Tyres | Bridgestone |
| Debut | 2002 Australian Grand Prix |
| Races competed | 80 |
| Constructors' Championships | none |
| Drivers' Championships | none |
| Race victories | none |
| Pole positions | 2 |
| Fastest laps | none |
| 2005 position | 4th (88 points) |
Toyota's Formula One involvement stemmed from Team Toyota Europe (TTE), originally set up by Ove Andersson to run in the World Rally Championship. TTE became the spearhead for development of various motorsport technologies. It designed and ran in the 24 Hours of Le Mans campaigns for Toyota in 1998 and 1999. Toyota Motorsport as TTE was now known, then redirected its resources from the World Rally Championship to Formula One and during 2000 and 2001 Toyota ran tens of thousands of miles of testing their Formula One test car, the TF101.
Toyota officially began participation in the Formula One World Championship in 2002, with drivers Allan McNish and Mika Salo. Despite reportedly having one of the biggest budgets out of all the Formula One teams, Toyota scored only two points all year, level with minnows Minardi, and ahead of only one other team (Arrows, which ran out of money halfway through the season). Neither McNish nor Salo were offered jobs for 2003, although they did a reasonable job in the circumstances.
In 2003, Champ Car champion Cristiano da Matta and former BAR driver Olivier Panis took over the racing duties but success was still a long way away. The team accumulated sixteen points throughout the season — a massive improvement on 2002 in terms of points — but still ended up only eighth in the Constructors' Championship.
The 2004 Formula One season was more difficult for the team. Both Toyotas were disqualified from the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix for running illegal parts. Cristiano da Matta, disillusioned with Formula One, left the team half-way through the season, and was replaced by compatriot Ricardo Zonta who had been the team's third driver. Zonta was replaced by Jarno Trulli who had himself left Renault F1. Olivier Panis, meanwhile, announced his retirement from racing, and bowed out before the end of the season to allow Zonta to compete in his home race, the Brazilian Grand Prix. The team scored only nine points all season.
There was, however, reason for the team to be optimistic. Toyota had signed proven race winners for the 2005 Formula One season: Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher. They had also employed talented designer Mike Gascoyne to oversee the development of the Toyota chassis. Toyota made a highly impressive start to the 2005 season. Trulli was able to show the car's pace by qualifying second for the Australian Grand Prix and finishing in second at the following two races. Results soon began to peter away as Toyota was unable to keep up with the pace of development. Nevertheless, the 2005 season has been Toyota's most successful Formula One season by far,as they scored points in all but the opening race,and ofcourse the controversial US Grand Prix. Toyota has retained the same lineup for the 2006 Formula One Season-and was the first team to unveil their new car very early into winter testing,thought to be giving them significant edge over their rivals-but has performed averagely in testing since and even more badly in the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix.Ralf Schumacher blew up his Toyota engine at the qualifying of 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix-nonetheless managing to score a point after a good drive from the back of pack along with heavy attrition.Toyota seems to be on form in the 2006 Australian Grand Prix,with both Trulli and Ralf qualifying in the top ten.
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Complete Formula One results
(Note: grands prix in bold denote points scoring races.)| Yr | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | A McNish, M Salo | AUS | MAL | BRA | SAN | SPA | AUT | MON | CAN | EUR | GBR | FRA | DEU | HUN | BEL | ITA | USA | JPN | ||
| 2003 | C da Matta, O Panis | AUS | MAL | BRA | SAN | SPA | AUT | MON | CAN | EUR | FRA | GBR | DEU | HUN | ITA | USA | JPN | |||
| 2004 | C da Matta, O Panis, J Trulli, R Zonta | AUS | MAL | BAH | SAN | SPA | MON | EUR | CAN | USA | FRA | GBR | DEU | HUN | BEL | ITA | CHN | JPN | BRA | |
| 2005 | J.Trulli, R.Schumacher | AUS | MAL | BAH | SAN | SPA | MON | EUR | CAN | USA | FRA | GBR | DEU | HUN | TUR | ITA | BEL | BRA | JPN | CHN |
| 2006 | R.Schumacher J.Trulli | BAH | MAL | AUS | SAN | EUR | SPA | MON | GBR | CAN | USA | FRA | DEU | HUN | TUR | ITA | CHN | JPN | BRA |
External links
| Constructors and drivers competing in the 2006 Formula One championship | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renault | McLaren | Ferrari | Toyota | Williams | Honda | Red Bull | BMW | MF1 | Toro Rosso | Super Aguri | |
| Alonso 2 Fisichella | Räikkönen 4 de la Rosa | M Schumacher 6 Massa | R Schumacher 8 Trulli | Webber 10 Rosberg | Barrichello 12 Button | Coulthard 15 Klien | Heidfeld 17 Villeneuve | Monteiro 19 Albers | Liuzzi 21 Speed | Sato 23 Montagny | |
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