Panasonic Toyota Racing:
Last Season’s Position: 6th

Drivers:



11. Ralf Schumacher (GER)

Debut: Australia 1997
Starts: 163
Wins: 6
Points: 324
Poles: 6



12. Jarno Trulli (ITA)

Debut: Australia 1997
Starts: 167
Wins: 1
Points: 175
Poles: 3

Dcoulthard19 says:
Ok then, time to discuss the richest team in F1 and that’s Toyota, is it another season of being mediocre or are Toyota going to sparkle our lives in 2007?
Paul_Murtagh says:
I believe that yet again it will be yet another disappointing season. They had so much promise at the end of 2005 after scoring their first pole and podium results and the future looked up. But last year while the other teams moved forward they seemed to stand still at their 2005 pace. Do you believe that Toyota can progress and prove they are worth the investment?
Dcoulthard19 says:
I don't think they will be as poor as they were in 2006, in fact I think they will be far improved, they have been more aggressive with their new car and have started from scratch and overall it looks pretty good even though the car still has the same old livery. I might even go as far as saying that they could surprise on a few weekends but consistency they won't have. I expect podiums at times and to upset the order of the top four. However they will be one of those teams fighting for 5th in the championship. They won't be able to sustain a challenge for the top 4.
Paul_Murtagh says:
I think the absence of Mike Gascoigne will be a big loss. Fair enough he hasn't been there since last May, but he has designed their last 3 cars and has been there for all their success to date. Without his input into this season's car they could be at a loss. Do you feel that they have got value for their money since they entered in 2002?
Dcoulthard19 says:
They have been a very inefficient operation so far, they have put a lot of money into the operation but haven't got much else out but they are here to stay until they win. They have a lot of money, in fact they are one of the richest manufacturers in the world, and whilst Honda are in the same sport they will not give up, I believe they will get things right eventually, it will have cost them megabucks but I think it would be worth it for the company. Since the departure of Gazza they have restructured and have a new outlook now so, no team is bigger than one man, I think the legacy of what Gazza will have left behind will still be helping the team and in 2006 then Gazza left the team were able to improve with him, a big factory, lots of facilities, lots of people, it will come good eventually, when I don't know, we will just have to wait and see.
Paul_Murtagh says:
I can see where you're coming from. No-one can deny that they have the facilities it's just a matter of putting them to use. I think what they need is a top line driver to possibly push themselves forward and finally deliver wins and a championship challenge. Don't get me wrong - Ralf and Jarno are good drivers and can be fast on their day, but they aren't consistent like Raikkonen or Alonso
Dcoulthard19 says:
If you want to win you need better drivers than Ralf and Trulli, but if you try and persuade a big name driver to join Toyota at the moment they will not be convinced, if they can have a couple of decent seasons now and build on their 2005 success and learn from the lessons of 2006 then maybe they can attract better drivers in the future. Trulli is fast over a single lap and occasionally fast in the race, Ralf is a bit all over the place but I do think he is capable, they are adequate drivers for now and they have Montagny testing, they could bring him in at some point if he impresses in his role.
Paul_Murtagh says:
I think Trulli has pace there's no doubt about it. He showed at the beginning of 2004 how fast he could be by out-pacing Alonso. But he also showed his flaw because when things started getting tough he just seemed to give up. It seems that he needs the team behind him to get the best out of him otherwise his head just drops. And there's still questions over his race pace
Dcoulthard19 says:
He needs the car to be perfect for him to bring out his best performance and that has always seemed hard for teams to achieve, he needs to give a bit more commitment to the team perhaps to achieve this as well. If there is something slightly wrong with the car he doesn't perform 100%, he can a bit of a moody driver within the car for sure. However he is getting older now and nearing retirement so he will need to be working very hard to get the most of his final years otherwise he won't have a chance to win more races and he may perform better due to this reason. I am sure he knows that it needs to happen now after years of being nearly there but not quite at the races. I will watch Jarno's progress with interest.
Paul_Murtagh says:
I think Ralf and Jarno share some characteristics. They can be fast but inconsistent. But unlike Jarno Ralf can be very moody. We seen at Williams he had very public arguments with the hierarchy and even argued with the team in the middle of the pit lane at China in 2004. The problem Ralf will always have is that some people will think he got into F1 because of his name and his brother
Dcoulthard19 says:
Yeah, that’s an unfortunate scenario, not much he can do about that but with Michael no longer in F1 things might be easier for him. A lot of drivers will feel that they can really push on and achieve something now that Michael is gone. Ralf can be really fast at times and he has won 6 races and that during Ferrari's domination era, if he makes a decent start then he could have some good races, he probably doesn't deserve all the bashing he receives although he does like a good shunt, he needs to try and stay out of trouble.
Paul_Murtagh says:
Do you think Ralf's personality has matured much in his 10 years in Formula 1?
Dcoulthard19 says:
I don't think he has changed that much but I have always considered him fairly mature, he comes across well in interviews and seems quite a smart chap, he is actually quite a nice person I think and probably shows more of that type of personality than his brother ever did and the girls seem to like him to it seems.
Paul_Murtagh says:
And what about Toyota's long term future in F1 as a full works team? Will the main management in Japan continue to accept these results much longer considering how much they are investing in F1? They have achieved success in the WRC and Sports cars, but as we all know F1 is a different kettle of fish altogether
Dcoulthard19 says:
like I mentioned earlier as long as Honda are still there they will be there until they win, quitting while Honda are still there will look bad for the company, people underestimate the rivalry between these arch enemies. I do think Toyota will improve, last year they had a slight blip due to issues with Bridgestone tyres but I doubt this will be an issue this year and of course other teams have to adapt to Bridgestone so they may be able to capitalise on this looking pretty decent in testing at the moment.
Paul_Murtagh says:
So you feel Toyota will improve on what is considered to be a poor 2006?
Dcoulthard19 says:
yeah definitely, I think they will earn a bit more respect by the end of 2007, they may not be able to break into the top 4 with the better consistency that the top 4 teams will have but they will get good results and you never know if it falls for them maybe even the first win is around the corner, that is their target in 2007, just any kind of win would take that team to another level, we have seen how much confidence victory can give a team in the case of Honda. Toyota just have to keep plugging away and learning from errors and mistakes and that’s what Toyota are doing.
Paul_Murtagh says:
Yeah I would agree with that. It should be an interesting battle between Toyota and BMW as to which team can upset the top 4. But I do feel 2007 is a key year for both the team and its drivers
Dcoulthard19 says:
yeah definitely, but even if something were to go wrong again they would just carry on unless Honda quit the sport, Trulli and Ralf do need to perform next year because I am sure one of them will leave the team to make way for probably Montagny. This factor could make them try harder knowing that the job security isn't what it was before.
Paul_Murtagh says:
Yeah it could be fear that could drive the drivers to success, and Toyota won't want to lose out to Honda again. It will be interesting to see how it turns out

Ratings (out of 10):

Drivers - 6
Aerodynamics - 6.5/7
Engine - 7
Reliability - 5.5/6
Mechanical grip - 7
Tactics - 6.5
Pit crew - 6.5
Overall – 6.5

I wonder if driver experience in this case equates to being comfortable with failure? If so then watch out for driver changes and some of the young guns (e.g. Lewis Hamilton et al) moving in. They would have a little F1 experience, a real hunger for success, be cheese off at being ignored, be cheap and have the motivation of moving to a well funded team. Toyota have no excuse with their current line up.

The fact that they hung on to Ralf and Jarno is a bit of a puzzle.

Welcome to the forums mate, hope to see you stick around.

Thanks for the kind reply - and I like the graphics. As for sticking around, it's bookmarked!

How probable is it that both Ralph and Jarno are still there at the end of the season?

Given that Toyota dont seem to have much of a clue, I'd say it was probable that they will see out the season.....beyond that I cant see much of a future in F1 for either.

The only thing that counts more than money in F1 is results. Obviously, history will tell, but it is interesting to speculate - and then the question is who would replace them if Toyota did get mad? Contracts are contracts - but you'll remember the kerfuffle around the early contracts Michael (I-Don't-Care-About-The-Rules) Schumacher and latterly Jenson Button.

Montagny is the obvious choice if the top brass do get mad at Ralf or Jarno; where they'd go after that is unclear. Does Zonta still have a contract with Toyota?

Eddie Jordan mentioned in his column in F1 Racing that there was a distinct possibility that the Williams-Toyota partnership could continue for a long time, with Toyota eventually dropping their works operation out of the sport and putting all of their weight behind Williams. If Toyota continue to disappoint, then I can see that happening.