Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to participate in F1 in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002.The new team grew from Toyota's long-standing Toyota Motorsport GmbH organisation, which had previously competed in the World Rally Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Despite a point in their first-ever race,Panasonic Toyota Racing never won a Grand Prix, their best finish being 2nd place, which they achieved five times - in 2005, 2008 and 2009.
Toyota drew criticism for their lack of success,especially after the 2006 Formula One season, in which the team's best result was 3rd place in the Australian Grand Prix. Toyota was a well-funded team, but despite this, strong results had never been consistent.
On November 4, 2009, Toyota announced its immediate withdrawal from Formula One, ending the team's involvement in the sport after eight seasons.
Full name Panasonic Toyota Racing
Base Cologne, Germany
Noted staff Tadashi Yamashina, Ove Andersson, Pascal Vasselon
Noted drivers Ralf Schumacher,Jarno Trulli,Timo Glock,
Kamui Kobayashi,Olivier Panis,Cristiano da Matta
Ricardo Zonta,Allan McNish,Mika Salo
Formula One World Championship career:
Debut 2002 Australian Grand Prix
Races competed 140
Constructors Championships 0
Drivers Championships 0
Race victories 0
Podiums 13
Pole positions 3
Fastest laps 3
Final race 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Racing history:
Toyota made an early entrance into motorsport when a Toyopet Crown entered the Round Australia Trial in 1957.The Formula One team's roots can be traced to a later development in 1972, when Swede Ove Andersson's Andersson Motorsport team used a Toyota Celica 1600GT in the RAC Rally in Great Britain. The team was later renamed Toyota Team Europe and then, after being bought by Toyota in 1993, Toyota Motorsport GmbH. The rally team won four World Rally Championship drivers' titles, most notably with Carlos Sainz, as well as three constructors' titles.The FIA banned the team from competition for 12 months in 1995 for running illegal parts, causing the team unable to race at next season. Toyota continued to win rallies after their return in 1997, but did not achieve the same level of dominance.The first Formula One test car of Toyota, the TF101 (2001)
In 1997 the team moved into track racing with a sports car project, twice failing to win the Le Mans 24 Hours. On 21 January 1999 Toyota announced its move into Formula One.The company ended its rallying program in order to concentrate on Formula One.On June 30, 2000 the team secured its place as the 12th entry for the 2002 Formula One season. Originally intending to enter F1 in 2001, Toyota forfeited an $11Million deposit by delaying their entry.Unusually, Toyota opted to start their own works team rather than partner with a specialist race team and chassis manufacturer.The team was also set up away from Formula One's traditional manufacturing centre in 'Motorsport Valley' in the United Kingdom. During 2001, Toyota tested with their prototype TF101 (AM01) car and drivers at 11 F1 circuits.The idea was to gain telemetry data for the races, which allowed them to make aerodynamic changes for the TF102, and for the drivers to experience the tracks in the new cars. Finn Mika Salo, who can communicate in Japanese, and Scotsman Allan McNish, who drove the GT-One during the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, were appointed as test drivers.
2007 onwards: Alliance with Williams:
Jarno Trulli driving the Toyota TF107 at the 2007 Bahrain Grand Prix. He finished the race in 7th place after qualifying 9th.
Trulli and Schumacher were retained by Toyota for 2007. The Toyota TF107 was officially launched on January 12, 2007 in Cologne, Germany.Toyota's supply of customer engines was moved from the Midland F1 team to British former constructors' champions Williams who had, by their own standards, underperformed with Cosworth engines during 2006.
Ralf Schumacher scored Toyota's first point of the season with 8th place in the year's opening Grand Prix in Melbourne. Jarno Trulli scored two points in each of the next two races, finishing 7th at both Malaysia and Bahrain. Schumacher struggled in those races, finishing no higher than 12th. During the four week break that followed the third round, Toyota tested at the Circuit de Catalunya, where the team stated improvements were made. Team president John Howett said Toyota were looking to close down on third-placed team BMW Sauber in the constructors' standings, having maintained 5th since Malaysia.However, the team failed to score any points over the next two races.
The Canadian Grand Prix ended their points drought. Ralf Schumacher scored a point for finishing 8th, and at the following event at Indianapolis, Trulli finished in 6th place. Schumacher meanwhile, was involved in a crash with David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello at the opening corner.
A run of incidents meant the team did not score points until the Hungarian Grand Prix. Here Schumacher scored 3 points after he qualified in 5th place and finished 6th.
On 1 October, Schumacher announced that he would be leaving Toyota at the end of the 2007 season for a new challenge, having not been offered a new contract.
Toyota ended the year with an 8th place finish at Interlagos for Jarno Trulli. Altogether, 13 points were scored, the team's lowest tally since 2004 and less than they achieved in their second-ever season. The team admitted not fulfilling their pre-season promises, and vowed to have a completely different car for 2008.
WithDrawl:
In light of the parent company's first ever financial loss in 2009, Toyota decided to withdraw from Formula One with immediate effect on November 4, 2009.An agreement was reached for the Stefan Grand Prix team, which was attempting to compete in the 2010 season to take Toyota's 2010 chassis and engines in 2010. Stefan Grand Prix also rented private office space at Toyota Motorsport GmbH.
Toyota's Grid spot was taken by Sauber who competed under the name BMW Sauber despite BMW's withdrawal from the sport and the team's use of Ferrari engines.
Sponsorship:
Panasonic was Toyota's title sponsor since the team's first season in 2002.After Toyota's upturn in form from 2005, Panasonic extended its sponsorship deal. Denso (a member of Toyota Group) and Esso have also been with Toyota F1 since that first year.
Engine supplies:
Toyota supplied engines for Williams from 2007 to 2009. They also powered Jordan in 2005, and when the team changed their name to Midland F1 in 2006, Toyota continued to supply engines to them.
Notable drivers:
Based on a racer's credentials, Olivier Panis could be classed as Toyota F1's first notable driver, being their first man with a Grand Prix win to his name. However, that win was in unusual circumstances, when many of the front-runners (drivers for teams like Williams, Ferrari and McLaren) dropped out in the wet, tricky conditions. Otherwise, Panis had never driven for front-running teams, and joined Toyota in 2003 after a season with BAR that yielded just 4 points. Therefore, the following are racers of calibre who have shone for Toyota, and who have had reasonable success in F1 generally.
Toyota Over The Years:
Toyota drew criticism for their lack of success,especially after the 2006 Formula One season, in which the team's best result was 3rd place in the Australian Grand Prix. Toyota was a well-funded team, but despite this, strong results had never been consistent.
On November 4, 2009, Toyota announced its immediate withdrawal from Formula One, ending the team's involvement in the sport after eight seasons.
Full name Panasonic Toyota Racing
Base Cologne, Germany
Noted staff Tadashi Yamashina, Ove Andersson, Pascal Vasselon
Noted drivers Ralf Schumacher,Jarno Trulli,Timo Glock,
Kamui Kobayashi,Olivier Panis,Cristiano da Matta
Ricardo Zonta,Allan McNish,Mika Salo
Formula One World Championship career:
Debut 2002 Australian Grand Prix
Races competed 140
Constructors Championships 0
Drivers Championships 0
Race victories 0
Podiums 13
Pole positions 3
Fastest laps 3
Final race 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Racing history:
Toyota made an early entrance into motorsport when a Toyopet Crown entered the Round Australia Trial in 1957.The Formula One team's roots can be traced to a later development in 1972, when Swede Ove Andersson's Andersson Motorsport team used a Toyota Celica 1600GT in the RAC Rally in Great Britain. The team was later renamed Toyota Team Europe and then, after being bought by Toyota in 1993, Toyota Motorsport GmbH. The rally team won four World Rally Championship drivers' titles, most notably with Carlos Sainz, as well as three constructors' titles.The FIA banned the team from competition for 12 months in 1995 for running illegal parts, causing the team unable to race at next season. Toyota continued to win rallies after their return in 1997, but did not achieve the same level of dominance.The first Formula One test car of Toyota, the TF101 (2001)
In 1997 the team moved into track racing with a sports car project, twice failing to win the Le Mans 24 Hours. On 21 January 1999 Toyota announced its move into Formula One.The company ended its rallying program in order to concentrate on Formula One.On June 30, 2000 the team secured its place as the 12th entry for the 2002 Formula One season. Originally intending to enter F1 in 2001, Toyota forfeited an $11Million deposit by delaying their entry.Unusually, Toyota opted to start their own works team rather than partner with a specialist race team and chassis manufacturer.The team was also set up away from Formula One's traditional manufacturing centre in 'Motorsport Valley' in the United Kingdom. During 2001, Toyota tested with their prototype TF101 (AM01) car and drivers at 11 F1 circuits.The idea was to gain telemetry data for the races, which allowed them to make aerodynamic changes for the TF102, and for the drivers to experience the tracks in the new cars. Finn Mika Salo, who can communicate in Japanese, and Scotsman Allan McNish, who drove the GT-One during the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, were appointed as test drivers.
2007 onwards: Alliance with Williams:
Jarno Trulli driving the Toyota TF107 at the 2007 Bahrain Grand Prix. He finished the race in 7th place after qualifying 9th.
Trulli and Schumacher were retained by Toyota for 2007. The Toyota TF107 was officially launched on January 12, 2007 in Cologne, Germany.Toyota's supply of customer engines was moved from the Midland F1 team to British former constructors' champions Williams who had, by their own standards, underperformed with Cosworth engines during 2006.
Ralf Schumacher scored Toyota's first point of the season with 8th place in the year's opening Grand Prix in Melbourne. Jarno Trulli scored two points in each of the next two races, finishing 7th at both Malaysia and Bahrain. Schumacher struggled in those races, finishing no higher than 12th. During the four week break that followed the third round, Toyota tested at the Circuit de Catalunya, where the team stated improvements were made. Team president John Howett said Toyota were looking to close down on third-placed team BMW Sauber in the constructors' standings, having maintained 5th since Malaysia.However, the team failed to score any points over the next two races.
The Canadian Grand Prix ended their points drought. Ralf Schumacher scored a point for finishing 8th, and at the following event at Indianapolis, Trulli finished in 6th place. Schumacher meanwhile, was involved in a crash with David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello at the opening corner.
A run of incidents meant the team did not score points until the Hungarian Grand Prix. Here Schumacher scored 3 points after he qualified in 5th place and finished 6th.
On 1 October, Schumacher announced that he would be leaving Toyota at the end of the 2007 season for a new challenge, having not been offered a new contract.
Toyota ended the year with an 8th place finish at Interlagos for Jarno Trulli. Altogether, 13 points were scored, the team's lowest tally since 2004 and less than they achieved in their second-ever season. The team admitted not fulfilling their pre-season promises, and vowed to have a completely different car for 2008.
WithDrawl:
In light of the parent company's first ever financial loss in 2009, Toyota decided to withdraw from Formula One with immediate effect on November 4, 2009.An agreement was reached for the Stefan Grand Prix team, which was attempting to compete in the 2010 season to take Toyota's 2010 chassis and engines in 2010. Stefan Grand Prix also rented private office space at Toyota Motorsport GmbH.
Toyota's Grid spot was taken by Sauber who competed under the name BMW Sauber despite BMW's withdrawal from the sport and the team's use of Ferrari engines.
Sponsorship:
Panasonic was Toyota's title sponsor since the team's first season in 2002.After Toyota's upturn in form from 2005, Panasonic extended its sponsorship deal. Denso (a member of Toyota Group) and Esso have also been with Toyota F1 since that first year.
Engine supplies:
Toyota supplied engines for Williams from 2007 to 2009. They also powered Jordan in 2005, and when the team changed their name to Midland F1 in 2006, Toyota continued to supply engines to them.
Notable drivers:
Based on a racer's credentials, Olivier Panis could be classed as Toyota F1's first notable driver, being their first man with a Grand Prix win to his name. However, that win was in unusual circumstances, when many of the front-runners (drivers for teams like Williams, Ferrari and McLaren) dropped out in the wet, tricky conditions. Otherwise, Panis had never driven for front-running teams, and joined Toyota in 2003 after a season with BAR that yielded just 4 points. Therefore, the following are racers of calibre who have shone for Toyota, and who have had reasonable success in F1 generally.
Toyota Over The Years:
Allan McNish 2002
Olivier Panis 2004
Ricardo Zonta 2005
Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli 2006
Timo Glock 2008
Jarno Trulli 2009
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