Toyota

...I'll also be right behind Toyota when they line up on the Melbourne grid. The 12th car manufacturer will make their debut in Australia and I like many others I imagine want to see them do well.

Toyota have quite a rich pedigree in motorsport. First of Toyota were rally champions severla times over in the 80's and then once again in 1994 when Frenchman Didier Auriol took the winners trophy. Touring cars has also been a strong point ...
...of the F1 equation, so Toyota got to work early. It wasn't long before they started to cause a stir among the F1 paddock. Toyota had elected to build their own chassis and own engine - something that only Renault and Ferrari are doing. By doing the designing thi swhy it was going to be a while before the car was competative but it would be cheaper and more conveniant. The worlds richest manufacturer have pumped millions into the Toyota F1 project ... more

Being the avid F1 fan I think that seeing Ferrari or Mclaren or Williams bounding away to victory is very boring. Dont get me wrong, I love Motorsport but I am more of a fan of the underdogs. For instance I followed Arrows when they hit top form in 2000. However, as soon as they signed Enrique more money than talent Bernoldi and decided to have a rebadged Pug engine in their cars, I quickly went off them. So I supported Sauber - before you say anything I am not a glory hunter because I got interested after their impressive winter testing.

In 2002 I have already decided who I am supporting. Sauber remains high on my list, Pedro De La Rosa is my driver to look out for as is Heidfeld and I'll also be right behind Toyota when they line up on the Melbourne grid. The 12th car manufacturer will make their debut in Australia and I like many others I imagine want to see them do well.

Toyota have quite a rich pedigree in motorsport. First of Toyota were rally champions severla times over in the 80's and then once again in 1994 when Frenchman Didier Auriol took the winners trophy. Touring cars has also been a strong point and in 1992 came close to taking the title in Britain. They needn't be too disheartened beacause their Corona and Carina models stormed to Asian touring car success. Only Proton has won more. A few barren years in rallying saw them pull out in 1999 to concentrate on their F1 program. They also took part in the 1998 Le Mans race and would have won if they hadn't have broken down within 3 hours of the finish.

The F1 program started early in 1999 two years before their launch in a bid to be competative from the start. Based in Cologne, Germany the designers got their heads down and created their first car.

THE CAR

Of course the car is the most important part of the F1 equation, so Toyota got to work early. It wasn't long before they started to cause a stir among the F1 paddock. Toyota had elected to build their own chassis and own engine - something that only Renault and Ferrari are doing. By doing the designing thi swhy it was going to be a while before the car was competative but it would be cheaper and more conveniant. The worlds richest manufacturer have pumped millions into the Toyota F1 project in a bid to increase their improving image even more. Led by Ove Andersson, the Swede hopes that Toyota can finally be the team to take on Ferrari. they have also rented out the demanding Paul Ricard circuit in France which is going to give a good indidcation into the cars speed. In addition, Toyota are also going to travel to Europes Grand Prix circuits to do occasional tests to see how on the pace they are.

THE DRIVERS

In a bid to get above the rest Toyota were keen to sign up some drivers to test the cars as soon as possible. First to be signed up was Scottish driver Allan McNish. At 32 years old the Scot is an unlikely F1 driver but thanks to his previous and very impressive Toyota drives he is a respected driver no matter his drive. In the past he has been a Williams and Mclaren driver further donating to his skill. By being the Toyota test driver he will hope to be promoted to full time driver in 2002. And he just has. Toyota have been impressed with his speed, skill and masses of input from the start and after 10 years of jumping in and pout of F1 he will finally make his F1 debut in 2002. However, he will have to be second best to the no.1 driver from Finland. Mika Salo has been in F1 for years but has never really shone in cars like Arrows, Tyrrell or Sauber. After finding himself out of work in 1999 he was signed up as the replacement to Michael Schumacher. Despite some mediocre performances he starred at the German GP when he led for the first time for most of the race displaying his quality. In the end he finished a career best 2nd but thanks to team orders he should have won the race. In 2000 he took a gamble by signing for Toyota. He has been rewarded with a come back to the grid in 2002. He could be a suprise package.

SPONSORSHIP

Toyota have a lot of money so you wouldn't think they need sponsorship but you'd be wrong. They only need one main sponsor and that could have come in the form of two sponsors. Toyota said they wanted a sponsor that will fit in with their red livery, so it seemed Coca-Cola had the advantage. However, Toyota plumped for Panasonic because it was a Japanese brand with a Japanese car manufacturer - it made sense.

MY PREDICTION

There are big things expected from Toyota but I am urging you not to expect too much. Toyota have never done anything like this before so there are bound to be rough edges. They have also taken the risk of building their own chasis and engine - look at Renault and Ferrari who at the beginning struggled to make the grade. Also look back to 1999 when BAR predicted race wins and finished with no pointS. Despite all of this though, Salo offers good experiance and the Toyota is bound to be reliable. I am not predicting race wins but I think they will get the odd few points - I think they'll finish the year in 7th or 8th place.

OVERALL

I really want the Toyota team to do well but I am not getting my expectations too high.  

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