Toyota F1 Team
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Toyota unveiled their new TF108 car here on Thursday at the team's pre-season event which also featured drivers Jarno Trulli, Timo Glock and Kamui Kobayashi.
The Japanese outfit placed a disappointing sixth in last year's Constructors Championship after which veteran Ralf Schumacher was replaced by the reigning GP2 Series champion Glock, a 25-year-old German.
Trulli will compete for Toyota for a fourth straight season, while Kobayashi joins as the third driver graduating from the Toyota Young Drivers Programme.
Toyota chairman Tadashi Yamashina said of the forthcoming new season: "Our ultimate target is the middle step of the podium. We are in Formula 1 to win and we want to do that soon.
"Our clear target in 2008 is to make a big improvement in our results because we were not satisfied with our performance last year.
"We expect to have a truly competitive car so our drivers should be aiming to finish in the points regularly and challenging for the podium."
Toyota said that the TF108 was significantly different to its predecessor, on the outside and the inside, as a result of the team's research as well as regulation changes.
"The aerodynamic concept of this car has changed," said General Manager Chassis Pascal Vasselon.
"The TF107 was an evolution of the TF106 but this time the new package is a departure from recent Toyotas."
The new TF108 will make its first official test at Jerez in Spain on January 14 and there will be a further five tests before the start of the season in Australia in March.
The 33-year-old Trulli said that he had played a major role in the development of the new car which he believed would be competitive in the new season.
"I think that the team has got the potential, the resources, the people and everything necessary to bounce back to the position where we belong," he said.
"Obviously it was a difficult season in terms of results and performance but we are all committed to making a significant improvement.
"I know the team very well and they know me very well - we understand each other's potential and I am sure sticking together will be an advantage."
posted by Abu71 @ 7:48 PM,
