When Toyota was in F1...

Toyota is the biggest automobile manufacturer in the world, producing round about 10 million vehicles per year. They are one of the biggest car brands globally, so it's only natural that they would try their hand at Formula One. Toyota most notably had success in the WRC, winning 4 WRC Driver's titles and 3 Constructor's titles. They also put together 2 Le Mans attempts in the late 90s. So there was a degree of inevitability that Toyota would eventually put together a Formula One team.

On the 21st January 1999 Toyota announced their intention to pursue and entry into Formula One. ending both their rally and Le Mans programs to focus on their F1 entry. Toyota had planned to enter F1 with a V12 engine, but in January 2000 the WMSC mandated the usage of V10s. They had planned to enter in the 2001 season, but as a result Toyota pushed their entry back to the 2002 season. They confirmed their spot on the 2002 grid on the 30th June 2000. They still built a prototype car, the TF101 and did testing at over 11 F1 grade circuits throughout 2001, to gain as much data as possible. The team set up their headquarters in Cologne, Germany. This was unusual as majority of the F1 teams at the time were operating from the UK. They also reached an agreement with Michelin to provide their tyres.

The TF102 was the team's entry for their first ever season in 2002. They entered the season by retaining the two test drivers they had used the previous year - Mika Salo and Allan McNish. Salo was an experienced driver who had filled in for Michael Schumacher in 1999 (and probably should have had a better career). McNish had driven for Toyota in Le Mans in 1999 and had impressed with his feedback. The team viewed the season as a "learning year" and it was clear to see why. They only scored two points all year, with Salo scoring two 6th places at Australia and Brazil, and finished P10 in the WCC, behind Minardi on countback. The team shifted development early to the 2003 car, but this was still an underachievement considering that Toyota probably had the 3rd or potentially even 2nd largest budget in Formula One at the time.

2003 brought the TF103 and a all new driver lineup - experienced French driver Olivier Panis (Monaco 1996 winner) and Cristiano Da Matta from Brazil, who had won the 2002 CART championship. Toyota had made their V10 engine lighter and more powerful, and it showed here with an improved performance. The new points system also helped Toyota to finish P8 in the WCC with 16 points, a good improvement and a clear step forward for the team, finishing ahead of both Minardi and race winning Jordan. Their best race was Germany where Panis got 5th and Da Matta got 6th. They even ran 1-2 at one part of that year's British Grand Prix!

Toyota retained the same lineup for 2004. But this season was a terrible one. The conservative approach of the design team was really exposed here as the performance of the car failed to improve. Midway through the season Chief Designer Gustav Brunner was replaced by Mike Gascoyne and his TF104B chassis saw an upturn in performance, albeit a bit too late in the season for real progress and work was fully focused on the 2005 car. Cristiano Da Matta was fired from the team after the German Grand Prix and was replaced by Ricardo Zonta (the team's test driver of BAR fame). Zonta was then replaced by Jarno Trulli for the last 2 rounds after his surprise sacking from Renault, and Panis's early retirement meant that Zonta once again stepped in at the last race of the season. The best performance of the season was Monaco where Panis got 8th and Da Matta got 6th but this was a really messy season. They once again came P8 in the WCC, this time having only scored 9 points. The team was also accused of espionage by Ferrari, as many thought the car looked too similar to the 2003 Ferrari.

The team kept Jarno Trulli for 2005 and made an aggressive move in the driver market by replacing Zonta with multi-race winner Ralf Schumacher from Williams. The TF105 shocked the paddock as Toyota made a sudden turn up the grid, scoring points in all but the opening round of the season. Ralf Schumacher claimed 2 third places in Hungary and China, while Jarno Trulli got 2 seconds at Malaysia and Bahrain, and also got a third place in Spain. The car was also quick in quali - Trulli got pole at the controversial US GP that year while Ralf too pole in Japan. However the only hiccup was that the new Toyota V8 took a bad step back in performance compared to their V10 entry. But this was an amazing season, Toyota's best so far (also their best in F1 imo). They got their most points in F1 with 88 and finished a highest P4 in the WCC. All good from here right? Surely the team with the biggest budget can kick on and go right to the top of the grid now?

Toyota went into the season with big ambitions in 2006 with the TF106. They retained Trulli and Schumacher and had hopes of "competing with Ferrari". They switched to Bridgestone tyres for this season and unveiled their car before anyone else. However the performance had taken a major step back and as a result Chief Designer Mike Gascoyne was (harshly) fired just two races into the season. This was a strange move imo - although the new car was poor he had been one of the main reasons why they had shot up the grid so quickly! At least give him a chance to fix it. They decided to forgo a technical director from this point on, calling one man designing a car "outdated", and prefered a group approach. This was another huge problem for Toyota, the corporate way the team was managed. F1 is a very fast moving industry, and decisions need to be made quickly. Every decision Toyota made needed to be approved by their HQ in Japan, which slowed their decision making process. The teams best result was a solitary podium in P3 from Ralf Schumacher in Australia. Trulli only scored his first points in round 9 and the team finished P6 in the WCC with 35 points. Another step back.

The driver lineup was once again retained for the 2007 season. This was once again another pretty terrible season from Toyota: they got no podiums and only got 13 points in the whole season. They were beaten by their customer team Williams as they once again finished P6 in the WCC. It's clear the TF107 was abandoned quite early in development to focus on the 2008 car and the new regulations in 2009. A P6 each from Schumacher and Trulli was the team's best result of the season.

There was a change in driver lineup for 2008 as Ralf Schumacher was replaced by reigning GP2 champion Timo Glock who would partner Jarno Trulli. The completely abandoned their 2007 evolution and focused on evolving their 2005/2006 base with this year's design. The performance of the team was much improved and they managed to score 56 points and finish P5 in the WCC, a welcome return to form for the team. Trulli got a podium with 3rd at the French Grand Prix, while Glock snagged 2nd in Hungary. This was a decent step forward for Toyota with the TF108, as the team structure was much improved by this point and their aero issues of the past were gone. 

New regulations emerged for 2009, as Toyota unveiled the TF109 with a retained driver lineup of Trulli and Glock. They had an excellent start to the season due to their exploitation of a loophole in the regulations which allowed for a double decked rear diffuser (this was the same trick Brawn GP used). They were also one of the only teams to start the season with a lower front wing concept, once again similar to the Brawn GP. Trulli started well with a P3 in Australia, and Glock followed it up with a P2 in the shortened Malaysia race. Then at Bahrain, Toyota shocked the paddock by locking out the front row in qualifying! It seemed like momentum was on their side and that elusive first win would come. But another Toyota problem occured: terrible strategy. They were always too conservative with their strategies, but this has to be especially bad. Turning a front row lockout into a P3 (Trulli) and P7 (Glock) without any incidents or wet conditions is shockingly bad! Their form fell off after a terrible Spain upgrade before randomly coming back with Glock's P2 in Singapore and Trulli's P2 in Japan. That was another Toyota problem: so so inconsistent from weekend to weekend! Watching this season back it was so annoying honestly. How are you locking out the front row and then 2 races later on the 8th row???? Glock has a nasty crash in Japan quali and was replaced by Kamui Kobayashi, who has 2 great sub appearances at Brazil and Abu Dhabi (love his aggressive style). This season was SUCH a missed opportunity for Toyota who should have at least finished top 3 in the WCC. They came 5th with 59.5 points. Criticism was starting to grow, as the team had the biggest budget in F1 and yet had no wins in 8 years, and not even a top 3 WCC finish!

Toyota pulled out of Formula One with immediate effect on the 4th November 2009, stating financial reasons. The global crash in 2008 had a severe impact on F1 and the motor industry particularly, and it was no longer financially viable to pursue Formula One as Toyota experienced their first financial loss in 2009 in the company's history. This was quite late on actually, everyone was talking at the last race in Abu Dhabi like Toyota were going to be on the 2010 grid! They had made a chassis for 2010 called the TF110, and it reportedly had a rear F-duct (McLaren has a forward facing one on their 2010 car), apparently "one of the most extreme rear diffusers seen", and a ride height adjustment system. They also planned to introduce a blown diffuser at the first race. It sounds similar to the Red Bull 2010 concept, so this is a real shame that it never raced! They also almost signed Kimi Raikkonen for 2010! Imagine a Raikkonen - Kobayashi partnership in that car...

It's a real shame that Toyota never worked out in F1. They had all the resources available to become a success, but their mismanagement of the team, lack of understanding about what it takes to be successful in F1 and the fact that (imo) they never really signed an ELITE driver (Trulli was good but... not like Raikkonen level) all cost them. They looked like they were on the up and I would have loved to see their 2010 entry, but sadly it wasn't to be. However... Toyota are now back in F1 due to a technical partnership with the Haas F1 Team! And in January this year the global director of Toyota Gazoo Racing said that Toyota is looking into returning to Formula One. So hopefully the Toyota story is not over yet...