Toyota Racing facts for kids
| Full name | Panasonic Toyota Racing |
|---|---|
| Base |  Cologne, Germany |
| Noted staff | Tadashi Yamashina, Ove Andersson, Pascal Vasselon |
| Noted drivers |  Mika Salo Allan McNish Olivier Panis Cristiano da Matta Ricardo Zonta Jarno Trulli Ralf Schumacher Timo Glock Kamui Kobayashi |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Debut | 2002 Australian Grand Prix |
| Races competed | 140 |
| Constructors' Championships | 0 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 0 |
| Podiums | 13 |
| Points | 278.5 |
| Pole positions | 3 |
| Fastest laps | 3 |
| Final race | 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team. It was owned by the Japanese car company Toyota. The team was based in Cologne, Germany.
Toyota announced their plans to join F1 in 1999. After a lot of testing with their TF101 car, the team raced for the first time in 2002. This new team grew from Toyota's long-standing European Toyota Motorsport group. This group had raced before in the World Rally Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Even though they scored a point in their very first race, Toyota F1 never won a Grand Prix. Their best finish was 2nd place in 2005. That year, they also got three podium finishes and one pole position. They finished fourth in the world constructors' championship with 88 points.
Contents
Toyota's F1 Journey: A Closer Look
Starting Strong: The 2002 Season
Toyota's first F1 race was the 2002 Australian Grand Prix. They immediately scored a point, which was a great start for a new team! Their car was called the Toyota TF102. The team used a Toyota 3.0-liter V10 engine and M tyres.
- Mika Salo from Finland was one of their drivers. He scored points in three races.
- Allan McNish from the UK was the other driver. He finished 7th in Malaysia.
- The team finished 10th in the Constructors' Championship with 2 points.
Building Up: The 2003 Season
In 2003, Toyota continued to improve. Their car was the Toyota TF103, still with a V10 engine and M tyres.
- Olivier Panis from France joined the team. He scored points in four races.
- Cristiano da Matta from Brazil was the other driver. He scored points in five races.
- The team earned 16 points and finished 8th in the Constructors' Championship.
Challenges and Changes: 2004 Season
The 2004 season saw some driver changes for Toyota. They used the TF104 and TF104B cars.
- Cristiano da Matta and Olivier Panis started the season.
- Later in the year, Ricardo Zonta and Jarno Trulli joined as drivers.
- At the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix, both Toyota cars were disqualified. This was because of illegal brake cooling parts found after the race.
- The team finished 8th again, with 9 points.
Best Performance: The 2005 Season
The 2005 season was Toyota's most successful. They used the TF105 and TF105B cars.
- Jarno Trulli from Italy and Ralf Schumacher from Germany were the main drivers.
- They achieved three podium finishes (top 3 spots). Trulli got two 2nd places, and Schumacher got a 3rd place.
- Toyota also earned a pole position, meaning one of their cars started first on the grid.
- At the 2005 United States Grand Prix, neither Toyota car started the race. Their tyre supplier, Michelin, said the tyres were not safe to race with.
- The team scored 88 points and finished a strong 4th in the Constructors' Championship.
Continued Efforts: 2006 and 2007 Seasons
In 2006, Toyota switched to a 2.4-liter V8 engine and B tyres.
- Ralf Schumacher got a 3rd place podium finish in Australia.
- The team finished 6th in the Constructors' Championship with 35 points.
The 2007 season saw the team continue with the TF107 car.
- Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli were the drivers.
- They scored 13 points and finished 6th in the Constructors' Championship.
Final Years: 2008 and 2009 Seasons
The 2008 season saw Timo Glock from Germany join the team alongside Jarno Trulli.
- Both drivers achieved podium finishes. Trulli got a 3rd place in France, and Glock got a 2nd place in Hungary.
- The team finished 5th in the Constructors' Championship with 56 points.
In their final season, 2009, Toyota used the TF109 car.
- Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock continued as drivers.
- Kamui Kobayashi from Japan also raced for them in the last two races.
- Trulli got two 3rd places and a 2nd place. Glock got two 3rd places and a 2nd place.
- At the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix, Timo Glock crashed during qualifying and did not start the race.
- The team scored 59.5 points and finished 5th in the Constructors' Championship.
Toyota left Formula One at the end of the 2009 season.
Important Moments and Notes
- At the 2002 Japanese Grand Prix, Allan McNish had a big crash during qualifying. He was not able to race again in Formula One after that.
- Sometimes, half points were given if a race ended early (less than 75% of the distance was completed).
| Preceded by none |
Formula One constructor 2002–2009 |
Succeeded by none |
