McNish confirmed at Toyota

**Stephen Green** · 22 Oct 2001, 14:36 (Ref:163928)

Toyota today confirmed their driver line up for next years Formula 1 season. Mikka Salo will be partnered by Allan McNish.

Tristan · 22 Oct 2001, 17:34 (Ref:164028)

...and then perhaps we can see if all this hype is true....

TimD · 22 Oct 2001, 22:31 (Ref:164169)

Nothing hyped about Allan McNish. If anything, he's underrated.

This is really brilliant news, by the way. Something I've been waiting for nearly 10 years to hear.

jetsetter · 23 Oct 2001, 03:08 (Ref:164246)

After all the work McNish has put in at Toyota it is great news that he has landed the drive at Toyota.

Gt_R · 23 Oct 2001, 03:24 (Ref:164252)

Not having watched Mcnish in an F1 car..its really hard to see where he would end up next year. A new driver in a new car is a huge challenge, and he has more to lose.

But certainly, after all the hardwork has been done, i think he deserves at least a shot in F1. But age is not on his side, and less so the presence of many younger talents. I hardly see him to be able to challenge for WDC honours, which really means no point in F1 racing, but who knows, anything in F1 might happen!

Dr. Austin · 23 Oct 2001, 03:52 (Ref:164257)

Personally, I am sad, for him, that he got the drive. He had a fantastic future ahead of him racing with Audi, and then Porsche when they come back. Sadly, it is all gone and he will struggle mightily with the Toyo-trash. A good look at history shows that Japanese manufacturers are initially the doormat of any series the become involved in.

Look how long they stunk up CART, but now they are competitive. Look how long they struggled in GTP, but they eventually killed it off with their dominance. How long were they were tailenders at LeMans before the GT-one?

Looking further, how long was Honda an embarrassment in CART? But they have the engine now, don't they? And they were not very good in F-1 for a few years, either, until they hooked up with Williams. Now that Honda is back, they still haven't had any success, but no one doubts they will get it right.

Where I am going with all of this is that Toyota will indeed be very good. But the Japanese seem to be willing to take their time getting to the top. McNish doesn't have any more time. He has been passed over time and again and failure, even in a crappy car, will doom his F-1 career. I think it would have been better had he never gotten there and just become the new Derek Bell (who also never got a fair F-1 chance).

McNish left such a positive impression in sportscars that he will have no trouble coming back, but he has already lost a LeMans win and another ALMS title, just so he could test a dog car.

I hope I am wrong.

f1manoz · 23 Oct 2001, 05:03 (Ref:164270)

It's about time McNish got a drive in F1, he's been the forgotten man of motor racing. Now if only we could give Jorg Muller a go..........

McNish has got the drive he deserved. He's been testing just as hard as Salo has, so not to be picked would have been mighty unfair by the Toyota corporation. However, McNish will have to impress immediately as I'm sure there are a few budding Japanese talents who wouldn't mind a drive for Toyota in the future.

Dr. Austin · 23 Oct 2001, 06:25 (Ref:164281)

I agree that McNish more than deserves an F-1 ride. I just hope the Toyota turns out to be that ride, but the history of Japanese manufacturers is full of initial dismal failures. Again, I hope I am waaaaaay wrong.

I met Alan at Daytona and he is a neat guy. Very professional. Very.

DNQ · 23 Oct 2001, 06:26 (Ref:164282)

Isn't this about the forth time he has been confirmed??

None the less, I hope he does really well. He certainly deserves it after all these years in sports cars.

**Stephen Green** · 23 Oct 2001, 07:41 (Ref:164304)

Dr A your comments are spot on. It's great to see Alan get the drive but you have to wonder if it will be a one year contract and then he will be left in the cold. From a career perspective I agree too that he should have stayed in sports cars. As any driver will tell you though, if they get the chance to do F1, even in a car that might not be on the pace, they will all jump at the opportunity. I hope it ends well for Alan because he does deserve a fair crack.

enemy-ace · 23 Oct 2001, 11:10 (Ref:164356)

I am very happy to see McNish get the seat, and I'll definitely be cheering him on. I can understand some people questioning why he would do it. But wouldn't you given the opportunity? If nothing else than to prove it to yourself. Even if it doesn't work out for him, I'm sure any decent sportcar team would welcome him with open arms.
F1 teams have overlooked too many excellent drivers in the past in favour of drivers with either financial or political backing. I'm glad to see hard work pay off!

Ralf's Girl · 23 Oct 2001, 11:10 (Ref:164357)

The guy deserves a crack at the whip, but I think it's come too late for him - there are so many younger drivers around now, and they are the future of F1. Unfortunately for McNish, I can't see it being long before Toyota start looking for a younger driver to replace him.

Glen · 23 Oct 2001, 11:55 (Ref:164375)

It'll be interesting - according to some doubters there's not alot to F1, physically - so his performances ought not to suffer from that point of view...

I don't really go for this idea though - I think it will be very difficult for a Rookie "of a certain age" to get through the first season: physically, mentally, emotionally - as well as politically.

F1 is going the way of most sports, and the average age is coming down all the time as facilities and opportunities are made available to ever younger competitors. It's not purely a matter of fashion and politics either - outright fitness matters more and more, especially as the style of a GP is for several flat-out sprints with fewer laps spent tyre and fuel saving than in days gone by.

enemy-ace · 23 Oct 2001, 15:08 (Ref:164480)

Quote:

Originally posted by Glen
I don't really go for this idea though - I think it will be very difficult for a Rookie "of a certain age" to get through the first season: physically, mentally, emotionally - as well as politically.

F1 is going the way of most sports, and the average age is coming down all the time as facilities and opportunities are made available to ever younger competitors. It's not purely a matter of fashion and politics either - outright fitness matters more and more, especially as the style of a GP is for several flat-out sprints with fewer laps spent tyre and fuel saving than in days gone by.

I don't think that fitness will be much of an issue for McNish. Today's endurance races are more like 24hr sprints. F1's fitness levels won't be that big an obstacle for him. If anything he is probably fitter than a majority of the current drivers.

**Bononi** · 23 Oct 2001, 15:29 (Ref:164488)

I agree with Glen.

**Stephen Green** · 23 Oct 2001, 15:29 (Ref:164489)

Don't forget he's been driving the car in testing for almost a year and so will be used to the forces exerted on his body. He will also have been going through a strict fitness routine as do all the F1 drivers.

**Adam43** · 23 Oct 2001, 16:17 (Ref:164504)

Another Scot/Finn pairing! I wonder who'll come out on top this time?

**Stephen Green** · 23 Oct 2001, 17:29 (Ref:164537)

That thought hadn't struck me. Let's hope it's in the scots favour for once!

Ferrari Girl · 23 Oct 2001, 17:59 (Ref:164554)

Congrats to Allan.
I like this guy, he's a fan of Nottingham Forest, the best footie team on earth. hehehe!
Anyways, best of luck Allan, hope you kick ass!

winstonhenry · 23 Oct 2001, 18:13 (Ref:164557)

If Alex Yoong and Tomas Enge can drive F1, then Allan McNish should get a chance.

BootsOntheSide · 23 Oct 2001, 18:36 (Ref:164573)

Alan McNish has a fabulous racing CV, and should ahve been in F1 a long time ago. I hope he gets the job done, age won't help but really its only a numebr. A guy who spends time doing such long endurance races should be capable fo alsting a while. Everyone's different in terms of how long they stay at the top. He'll be younger than Damon Hill was when he started, but of course Damon got a better car.

Victor Broccoli · 25 Oct 2001, 02:06 (Ref:165137)

It's great that McNish now has a drive. He's been the bridesmaid for way too long, and I really hope that despite the fact that the Toyota car is looking to be rather ****, McNish can put in some valiant drives and perhaps convert this seat into something a bit more up the grid (or perhaps even stick with Toyota as they hit midfield in 2003).

-Vic

**Stephen Green** · 25 Oct 2001, 07:28 (Ref:165162)

Boots, don't forget that Damon's first season in F1 was with Brabham!

R · 25 Oct 2001, 18:32 (Ref:165461)

Congratulations to McNish. The Toyota team will have a strong experienced pairing in their debut season, that's for sure.

McNish following in the footsteps of Damon? Who knows...

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