Last Updated on October 11 2024, 2:59 pm

Toyota announced the decision to join Formula One for the first time back in 1999, they were approved six months later to become the twelfth F1 team on the grid for 2001. However, the Japanese organisation decided to defer their entry by a year which then saw them forfeit the $11m deposit they had made.

Given the Japanese company’s lack of European single seater racing experience, a number of eyebrows were raised in the paddock when Toyota decided to enter as a full works outfit, rather than partnering with a specialist race team and/or chassis manufacturer.

Reportedly with one of the biggest budgets in F1, Toyota hoped to start life in F1 with a bang but the reality that was to ensue was quite different. The team scored a point on debut at the Australian Grand Prix but this was gifted to them by Ralph Schumacher running into Rubens Barichello and the pair subsequently eliminated half the field.

 

 

 

Toyota’s first forage into F1

Next time out in Malaysia, Toyota were on for another points finish when an electrical misfire on Mika Salo’s car forced him to retire and the team then bungled the pit stop of Alan McNish.

Round three in Brazil was to prove successful for Toyota with Salo picking up a second point for the team, but that proved to be the final score for the Japanese team across the seventeen weekends of competition that season.

Toyota bobbed around P8 in the constructors’ championship until in 2005 a Mike Gascogne inspired TF105 improved the team’s fortunes as they finished the season fourth behind Renault, McLaren and Ferrari.

But this was as good as it would get for Toyota who sacked Gascogne the following season after the new car failed in the opening two rounds. In 2009 Toyota, the auto manufacturer, made the first loss in the company’s history and decided it would withdraw from F1 for the following season.

The Grand Prix now labelled “a scam and not profitable”

 

 

 

The mysterious 2010 Toyota car

Toyota’s 2010 car the TF110 was almost fully developed. There were two prepared prototype chassis of the TF110 and the design had significantly advanced aero concepts included. Two deals were attempted to buy the completed Toyota 2010 chassis and intellectual property, but they failed to complete and so the car was never raised despite high expectations.

Reports emerged of Toyota HQ senior management interfering too frequently over their years in F1, with the decisions made by those employed to run the race team. This accusation was also levied at Ford with their Jaguar F1 programme, which Red Bull acquired. Yet Red Bull have proven a focused race team with no corporate interference is the way to go racing in motorsport’s premier racing category.

Now Toyota had announced a new technical partnership with Haas F1 which will include both organisations co-operating on a test programme, aerodynamic development and the manufacturing of parts. 

The Japanese auto manufacturer wants to revive its junior driver programme which is leading to speculation this is the first tentative step towards an F1 return, although the focus for now is claimed to be on learning which will feature on its road cars.

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F1 now ‘worth it’ for Toyota

Takahashi Tomoya, Toyota Gazoo Racing’s president, said: “As you know, F1 cars are packed with a lot of the world’s most advanced technology. Aerodynamics, for example, is an extremely important technology for electric vehicles.

“I believe that the day will come when we will be able to feed back the technology we have received to production cars, and I believe that people who have experienced that high level of technology will also create the next production car, so I would like to make full use of it in future production cars.”

However, Akio Toyoda, company chairman, who made the decision to pull the plug on F1 in 2009 appeared to be singing from a different hymn sheet.

“At the time [when we withdrew from F1], I think Toyota was more interested in making a bigger company than in making better cars,” he said. “As president, I decided at the time that the company’s objectives were sales and profits, and that this kind of activity [F1] was not really suitable for the company.”

“Now we are transforming ourselves into a company that builds better cars based on motorsport. To do that, we need people who can take responsibility for that.”

Ricciardo returns

 

 

 

Haas/Dallara relationship retained for now

Haas for their part were keen to stress this new relationship should not affect the two significant partners in Ferrari and Dellara. The Haas F1 model outsources as much of the design and build work of their cars, rather than build expertise in house.

Early speculation suggests Haas F1 have been hampered by Dellara, who take far longer to produce the F1 components as quickly as teams doing this in house. “Weeks” of delay have been cited and so it seems the Toyota partnership may eventually replace Dellara.

“Dallara is our important partner, they’ve been with us since day one. They have been building our chassis since day one so that’s another key important relationship,” said the Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu.

“In due course, we will discuss what parameters we’ll keep working with Dallara, which parameters we’ll keep working with Toyota. But we will co-exist. It’s not a case of replacing one with another.”

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F1 by the back door

‘He protests too much’, may be the gut reaction to Komatsu’s assertions. Then again the partnership with Toyota may ignite the Japanese company’s taste for a return to Formula One.

“We have no plan to enter power unit supply, at this moment,” said Toyota Gazoo Racing’s GM – Masala Kaji. Yet despite denying plans for either a team or a power unit, Toyota may be paving the way for a potential F1 return. There’s even the possibility of Gene Haas wanting to sell his F1 team, if so Toyota are in pole position.

Alex Albon calls on FIA to change tack

 

 

 

‘Newey was leaving anyway.’ says Horner

Red Bull Racing have faced a torrid year on a number of fronts all starting with an internal power struggle and Christian Horner being accused of “inappropriate behaviour” by a female employee. Then came the bombshell that Adrian Newey was leaving after nigh on twenty years service at Milton Keynes.

The tea have since suffered a number of other high profile exits with Rob Marshall joining the leadership team at McLaren, Jonathan Wheatley off to head up the Audi F1 project and more recently Will Courtney announcing he wold be leaving his role as head of strategy to become sporting director at McLaren.

For the first ten race weekends of the year, Red Bull and Max Verstappen looked to be picking up from where they left off in 2023. Max won seven of the ten Grand Prix and by the time the world champion won the Spanish Grand Prix he had a comfortable lead in the drivers’ championship. .. READ MORE