is a
Formula One team run by
Japan ese car manufacturer
Toyota . Unusually, whereas most Formula One teams are based in the
United Kingdom , Toyota opted to set up in
Cologne ,
Germany . Toyota's investment in Formula 1 is long term, with large investment into the team's headquarters in
Cologne, Germany . Toyota's technical team currently includes reputable designers such as
Luca Marmorini and
Pascal Vasselon . Previous technical staff have included
Gustav Brunner (who left the team at the end of 2005) and
Mike Gascoyne (who was suspended following the
2006 Australian Grand Prix ).
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 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.
(Note: grands prix in denote '''points scoring''' races.)
