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Toyota has a long and distinguished history of international motorsport success. In recent years the Japanese company has been most noted for its multiple victories in the World Rally Championship and CART series, backed up by strong performances in the Le Mans 24 hours classic.
However, Toyota's sporting influence has spread much further afield as it has built an impressive participation catalogue, so it was only natural that the company should finally decide to participate in the most prestigious of all motorsport events, the Formula One World Championship.
Toyota's motorsport heritage has demonstrated that with each new level of competition, it is always willing to take on a new challenge, and consequently much of 2001 was spent preparing for the team's F1 debut in 2002.
While the 2001 Formula One World Championship was unfolding, Toyota was working away at a number of test tracks around the world as the Japanese outfit prepared to emulate Ferrari by becoming the second team on the grid to produce its own chassis and engine.
The 2001 test programme was gruelling and on one occasion Toyota actually ran a 'dummy' Grand Prix weekend complete with practice sessions, qualifying, race and press conferences!
In Mika Salo and Allan McNish the team went for experience. The Finn, a veteran of 93 races with a number of teams including Lotus, Tyrrell, Sauber and Ferrari was joined by GP 'rookie', but former McLaren tester and Le Mans winner, McNish, who 1976 World Champion James Hunt had previously tipped as a future F1 Champion.
The result in Melbourne might possibly have been the worst possible for the Japanese team, for Salo's sixth place flattered to deceive.
McNish looked set for a point in Malaysia too until a 'botched' pit stop put an end to his dream, while another point in Brazil together with some impressive qualifying performances indicated that the team might prove to be a force to be reckoned with, but it was not to be.
The problem was that this was Toyota's first season and all the 'dummy' GPs in the world couldn't prepare the outfit for the real thing. The Japanese team was slow to react to problems and its development was virtually non-existent compared to its rivals.
Late in the season, as the cars slipped further and further down the grid, Toyota shocked everyone by revealing that both drivers were to be dropped at the end of the season. It's to their credit that neither McNish nor Salo 'eased off' in their final races, indeed the Scot came close to paying the ultimate sacrifice in a horrendous qualifying crash at Suzuka.
Although Toyota will say that 2003 was a marked improvement on its debut season, the truth is that the TF103 failed to live up to expectations. Although Luca Marmorini and his team had produced a solid, powerful engine, the chassis simply wasn't up to the job. Almost from the moment the season got underway, the Japanese outfit was rumoured to be looking for a new designer, with Renault's Mike Gascoyne at the top of the 'wish list'.
Drivers Olivier Panis and Cristiano da Matta did a good, solid, workmanlike job, as much as the TF103 would allow. The Frenchman had appalling reliability, consequently finishing only 691 of the 1018 racing laps that comprised the season.
Thanks to the interference of a deranged former priest, and the weather, the Toyotas found themselves leading the British GP, but it will be a few years before the Japanese cars are in that position solely on merit.
In late 2003 F1 was rocked by the news that the police had questioned an employee who had previously worked for Ferrari, prompting talk that the Japanese outfit had 'copied' the Italian team's 2002 car. Understandably, Toyota quickly distanced itself from the affair, though the authorities are still investigating.
Shortly after season's end, Toyota revealed that it had obtained the services of Gascoyne, though one shudders to think how much compensation Renault demanded, and clearly got. The Englishman had virtually no input as far as the TF104 was concerned and though he tried to resolve the car's many problems, his main priority was the 2005 car.
At the TF104's launch, President John Howett revealed that the team's budget had been reduced in 2004, though it is still significantly more than many of its mid-field rivals.
Panis and da Matta were retained, while former BAR driver, Ricardo Zonta, was brought in as test driver.
Even though little was expected of the TF104, pre-season testing was encouraging, and in some circles there was even talk of the team scoring its first podium. But it was not to be. Although reliability had improved, and the Toyota power-plant was clearly one of the most powerful, the TF104 was a 'dog'. Indeed, so bad were the results, the team introduced a B-spec car mid-season (Hockenheim).
By this time it was already known that Ralf Schumacher had signed for 2005, while Renault's Jarno Trulli was being linked with the second seat.
In the past, Toyota has shown that it has no time for sentimentality, therefore former team boss Ove Andersson slipped quietly out of view, before the Cologne based outfit made a number of other controversial decisions.
On August 5, just days before the Hungarian GP, it was revealed that Zonta was to replace da Matta for the rest of the season. Although the former CART champion was to be 'retained', it was clear that his F1 career was at an end. Days later, the team revealed that Team Manager, Ange Pasquali, was to leave, as was General Manager for race and test engineering, Norbert Kreyer. The company described the cull as 'streamlining'.
In mid-December, it was revealed, after months of speculation, that Trulli would indeed join Ralf Schumacher in 2005, though just weeks later, in a move which caught almost everyone off guard, the Italian left Renault and slipped into the second white and red car, for the last two races.
Much was expected of the TF105, indeed many reputations, if not Toyota's entire F1 programme, rested on the car.
From the outset, it was clear that Mike Gascoyne's first car for the Japanese manufacturer was a serious leap forward, and those who thought Jarno Trulli's front row grid slot in Australia, or the subsequent podiums in Malaysia and Bahrain, were in for a surprise.
Though the TF105 was never likely to challenge either the McLaren MP4-20 or the Renault R25, it was, along with the Ferrari, the best of the rest, thanks to Luca Marmorini's powerful, and highly reliable RVX-05 engine, and the ever improving work done by Gascoyne and his team.
For much of the season it was Jarno Trulli who dominated the team, the Italian particularly superb in qualifying, clearly able to 'turn it on' for one hot lap. However, when the 105B was introduced at the end of the season it seemed to suit Ralf, allowing the German to take pole in Japan.
There is no doubt that following its strong start to the season, which saw it take 40 points from the first five races, there was a definite mid-season lull. Having made the lap forward in 2005 - finishing fourth in the Constructors' Championship, the Japanese team now has to build on its success. This means continuing development throughout the season, and ensuring that both drivers give 100% at all times. Both Schumacher and Trulli are fast drivers, but they are also inconsistent and liable to lose motivation. Furthermore, there remains a serious question mark over their development abilities, which probably explains why Zonta has been retained as test driver.
Trulli, in particular, was devastating in qualifying, but often lacked any pace during races, especially during the early laps, while there were times when one forgot that Ralf was actually out there, even though he had one of the best finishing records.
Ahead of the 2005 season, the bosses at Toyota HQ were demanding a podium at the very least, and considering the Japanese team's budget, this wasn't a lot to ask for. The fact that the team had two podiums after just three races must have seemed like the team - in only its fourth season let us not forget - had won the title.
Launching the 2006 car, Toyota admitted that it was aiming to celebrate its first win during the forthcoming season, and even more optimistically hoped to be the best performing Bridgestone runner, an ambitious task considering that Ferrari was also on the Japanese rubber.
The fact that at the launch of the 2007 car Tsutomu Tomita apologised to his team's "worldwide fans and sponsors" for the "unfortunate announcement" at the 2006 launch, just about summed things up.
After the highs of 2005, 2006 brought Toyota back to earth with an almighty crash, the Japanese team finishing sixth in the Constructors' Championship, behind 'new boys' BMW.
The TF106, which was effectively a modified TF105 was a poor car, while the RVX-06 powerplant was equally lacking. Poor grip and balance, not to mention an engine that was rumoured to be 40 bhp down on the Ferrari - that's several seconds a lap - left Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli struggling.
To make matters worse, at a time when the team should have been pulling together, there was internal conflict, with Tokyo HQ clearly at odds with Cologne. Just days after Schumacher scored the team's best result of the year, its only visit to the podium, Toyota revealed that it had parted company with (technical director) Mike Gascoyne, the Englishman going off to tend his begonias and hollyhocks before joining Spyker.
At the 2007 launch, Tomita, beginning to sound like an old record, repeated the battle cry, informing the assembled guests and media that his team was aiming for its first victory.
To the surprise of many - though perhaps not - both Schumacher and Trulli were retained, with former Renault tester Franck Montagny brought in as test driver.
From the outset it was clear that 2007 was going to be pretty much a repeat of 2006, indeed, despite the bold pre-season claims the team actually fell back in 2007, scoring thirteen points to finish sixth, behind Red Bull. Best results of the season were a brace of sixth-places, Trulli at Indianapolis and Ralf in Hungary.
To make matter worse, and much to the chagrin of the Japanese outfit, Williams, using the very same powerplants, finished fourth in the championship, twenty points clear of the Cologne based outfit.
So what went wrong in 2007? Well, while reliability was improved, certainly on 2006, there was a basic failure to score points, an obvious understatement but in many ways the team's real failing. Unlike many of its rivals, Toyota already had experience of the Bridgestones. However, basic, stupid things such as poor starts and botched pit stops left the red and white cars of one of the best funded teams on the grid battling with Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Honda, which was having its own Annus Horribilis. Then, apart from an obvious lack of pace, certainly compared to the front runners, there was the fact that the team employed two drivers who appeared to have lost all motivation.
It came as no surprise when Toyota announced that Ralf Schumacher would not be retained for 2008, indeed there was serious speculation that he was to be drooped during the course of 2007. However, Trulli is retained and he will be partnered by 2007 GP2 Series Champion, Timo Glock.
One doesn't want to be harsh on Toyota, but the fact is the team doesn't appear to get it. The Cologne-based outfit is investing an absolute fortune but is achieving little. Had the team used some of its vast budget to secure a Ross Brawn or a Fernando Alonso we might have said that Toyota was serious about its intentions, however, to all intents and purposes 2008 will be pretty much more of what went before.
Now that it has the engine partnership with Williams, Toyota should be looking to do what BMW failed to do, build a partnership that would benefit both parties.
In early 2007, the team announced that Tsutomu Tomita was to stand down as Team Principal, moving on to become Chairman at Fuji Speedway. Such moving and shaking might be part of the Toyota way, but it is not the way to do things (successfully) in F1. After six seasons in F1, Toyota should have achieved more and learned more, but it hasn't, and all the signs are that 2008 will not see an improvement.
On January 1, team boss, Tadashi Yamashina, admitted that he has two years in which to turn the Japanese outfit's fortunes around. The writing appears to be on the wall.
Statistics - Prior to 2008 Season
Drivers' Titles: 0
Constructors' Titles: 0
Seasons in F1: 6
Grand Prix: 104
Wins: 0
Points: 163
Poles: 2
Fastest Laps: 1
Best result in 2007: 6th - Trulli (USA)
Best qualifying 2007: 5th - R Schumacher (Hungary)
Worst qualifying 2007: 20th - R Schumacher (Monaco)
2007 Average grid position: Trulli (9.35) R Schumacher (12.65)
2007: R Schumacher out-qualified Trulli 3 times
2007: Trulli out-qualified R Schumacher 14 times
2007: Completed 1742 out of 2130 laps (81.8%)
2007: Finished 24 times from 34 starts (70.59%)
Team Structure
Management
Chairman and Team Principal - Tadashi Yamashina
President - John Howett
Executive Vice-President - Yoshiaki Kinoshita
Technical
Senior General Manager Chassis - Pascal Vasselon
Senior General Manager Engine - Luca Marmorini
Director Technical Co-Ordination - Noritoshi Arai
Operations
Team Manager - Richard Cregan
Chief Race and Test Engineer - Dieter Gass
Technical Specifications
TF108
Monocoque: Moulded carbon fibre and honeycomb construction.
Fuel tank: ATL safety cell
Suspension: Carbon fibre double wishbone arrangement, with carbon fibre trackrod and pushrod.
Dampers: Penske
Wheels: BBS forged magnesium
Tyres: Bridgestone Potenza
Brakes: Brembo callipers and master cylinders, Hitco material (carbon/carbon)
Steering: Toyota power-assisted steering. Toyota carbon fibre steering wheel with Toyota / Magneti Marelli instruments
Steering wheel: Toyota carbon fibre wheel with Toyota / Magneti Marelli instruments
Drivers seat: Carbon fibre
Driver restraints: Takata
Driver HANS device: Hubbard-Downing
Electronics: Toyota, Magneti Marelli plus McLaren Electronic Systems ECU (as required by FIA rules)
Transmission: 7-speed unit plus reverse
Dimensions
Overall length: 4636mm
Overall height: 950mm
Overall width: 1800mm
Overall weight: 605kg including driver and camera
RVX-08
Designation: RVX-08
Number of cylinders: 8
Capacity: 2,398cc
Horsepower: Approximately 740bhp
Revolutions: Maximum 19,000rpm, as required by FIA rules
Valve actuation: Pneumatic
Throttle actuation: Hydraulic
Spark Plugs: DENSO
Fuel: Esso
Lubricants: Esso
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