Toyato into F1

Toca · 16 Jun 2001, 10:55 (Ref:105806)

Has anyone see Toyato in practice yet - If things keep going they are going to kick some major butt!!! just as long as they keep going...... Come on McNish and Salo.

JeremySmith · 16 Jun 2001, 11:50 (Ref:105824)

No....and are they! We will see

Niall · 16 Jun 2001, 12:34 (Ref:105834)

In their latest test at Imola they were 7 tenths off of Marques time.

Now that can't be good.

But I guess this is better than their last testing session where they didn't even beat he 107 % time.

Niall

Minardi fan · 16 Jun 2001, 13:29 (Ref:105841)

Exactly. They are slower than Marques at the moment. Don't expect great things from them until three, four even five seasons in - remember BAR scored no points at all in their first season.

Nicholas · 16 Jun 2001, 16:03 (Ref:105892)

Quote:

Originally posted by Toca
Has anyone see Toyato in practice yet - If things keep going they are going to kick some major butt!!! just as long as they keep going...... Come on McNish and Salo.

economy_waffle · 16 Jun 2001, 16:19 (Ref:105894)

toyota like jag, BAR will start the year blowing their trumpets then will be like minardi

RIKB · 16 Jun 2001, 16:52 (Ref:105900)

The Difference between Toyota and Jaguar and BAR is that Toyota are having problems in their development year which is the whole point.

The others did their development very publicly in races and looked a bit sheepish.

Ok no one expects them to start winning out of the box next year, but I suspect that they will be in better shape than many are expecting.

senna12 · 16 Jun 2001, 18:41 (Ref:105925)

I have no doubt that Gustav is very busy on the new chassis at this moment. I'm not sure if anyone knows the power figures for the engine, (unless some spies have recorded the engine note and figured out the rpm and horsepower for it), but I'm sure, with the budget available, and over half a year to work on it, that they will at least be inside the 107 rule at the start of the year, perhaps to midfield by the end of it. They learned a lot of lessons in their CART program, and it will help them to step up to F1. At least, I hope so!

DNQ · 16 Jun 2001, 21:26 (Ref:105967)

Toyota will not make a fool of themselves like Jaguar. They may not be the fastest in their first season, but they are not going to do a BAR and claim they'll win races.

**Bononi** · 16 Jun 2001, 21:35 (Ref:105971)

What is Toyato anyway ?????????

Wrex · 17 Jun 2001, 07:19 (Ref:106078)

Quote:

Originally posted by Bononi
What is Toyato anyway ?????????

Hmm, I was wondering this myself

That won't do a BAR, did'nt they say they could win the 1st race?

And Jaguar did what was expected, bla bla bla. "We are the British Ferrari team" and then began Ferrari's 21 year dry spell of championships. 1 down - 20 years to go

Toyota are taking the Williams approach, playing things down, and pleasently suprising later. Make no mistake - they are not entering to make up the numbers.

senna12 · 17 Jun 2001, 16:53 (Ref:106185)

At their latest Monza test, they were apparently 4 seconds off the pace of Montoya. So they are progressing. What I found interesting in the article I read in Autosport, was the fact that Mika got into the car for the first time since his accident, and went a half second quicker than Alan was able to do in 2 days. I believe this is significant, as I'm not sure that Alan's drive is guaranteed. Or is it?

EERO · 17 Jun 2001, 19:41 (Ref:106216)

No, in fact McNish's drive is not guaranteed, and Frentzen is rumoured to be courted by TOYOTA, as Daily F1 says, "seeking new challenges".

If true, it would be the end of a career. McNish cannot be too happy about the rumours.

Nicholas · 17 Jun 2001, 20:18 (Ref:106227)

Quote:

Originally posted by EERO
No, in fact McNish's drive is not guaranteed, and Frentzen is rumoured to be courted by TOYOTA, as Daily F1 says, "seeking new challenges".

Frentzen has 24 hours to decide...

I think it's highly unlikely though. Why do the equivalent of JV to BAR?

Quote:

Toyota will not make a fool of themselves like Jaguar. They may not be the fastest in their first season, but they are not going to do a BAR and claim they'll win races.

That's because they have:

a, not wiped the floor with their rivals in single-seater racing in their first races first time out

b, a whole year of testing, and 2 aborted F1 projects in the last decade

c, hindsight

d, Headquarters in Germany, home to motorsport greats such as Zakspeed and EuroBrun.

Despite that, Salo thinks he will qualify 4th in Melbourne...

Toca · 18 Jun 2001, 18:32 (Ref:106533)

Quote:

Originally posted by Toca
Has anyone see Toyato in practice yet - If things keep going they are going to kick some major butt!!! just as long as they keep going...... Come on McNish and Salo.

Ok TOYOTA - so I cant spell - oh well.

After seeing them on tele - I take everything back....

Kenny W. · 18 Jun 2001, 19:18 (Ref:106562)

I think that Stewart will be a better comparison.
A serious team taking it slowly but they will not be too far behind the pace.