The Toyota TF107

[Ed]

Toyota will become the first to launch their 2007 car later today. We will provide all the details as soon as it happens.

[Ed]

Panasonic Toyota Racing today unveiled its new TF107 challenger at the Expo XXI conference centre in Cologne, Germany.

Toyota aim to win their first race in Formula 1. An aim they set for themselves in 2006 but failed to achieve it.

Chairman and Team Principal Tsutomu Tomita said:

Our fundamental challenge this year is to get the first victory, we announced that a year ago, but we failed to succeed in 2006. And therefore we want to repeat that challenge in 2007. I know all the other teams are working very hard, particularly the top three. We have five years experience in F1, but still we are young in comparison with the top teams, therefore we have to be modest about it. But we would like to challenge them.
I’m very, very positive about this, and I personally think we should attack from round one. Therefore it’s very important to conduct some productive testing during the winter to fully understand the car and the tyres.

Vice Chairman of Toyota Motorsport, George Tadashi Yamashina said:

The most important target to aim for this season is the first victory for Toyota in Formula 1. We want to be on the top step of the podium. We have improved in all areas, aerodynamics, suspension and gear change.

Toyota Motorsport President John Howett said:

Our ambition has always been to win – that to me is why we are here and why we are racing. I think we built a fairly good platform in 2005, and last year we didn’t move forward sufficiently from that platform. I think in terms of speed we had the third quickest package on the grid.
Looking at race pace and qualifying pace, we were closing the gap on Renault towards the end of the season, but Ferrari was still in front. Although the results didn’t show it, I think we are now capable of running with the top teams in terms of speed.
We have addressed reliability this year, and we have resolved issues like the launch system, which we fixed at the end of last season, and which cost us dearly. We’re improving the car, flat out, all the time. So I think we have the potential to win this year, and I’m disappointed that we didn’t deliver it in 2006.

The new TF107 is completely new with virtually no parts carried over from last year's car. Howett continued:

It’s pretty extensively changed in terms of basic lay-out. When we went from the V10 to V8 the back of the engine effectively stayed in the same place, and the chassis and fuel tank filled the space where the front two cylinders of the V10 were. Now we’ve moved to engine forward, and yet worked really hard to still have a big tank. The gearbox is longer, and we will run a seamless shift for the first time.
Aerodynamics is the big focus, and a lot of the chassis layout has been designed to give better aero opportunity. The whole monocoque concept has been modified in terms of height and how it sits. Before it was quite a low car, now it’s higher. We have improved the suspension, and we have some interesting developments in the pipeline that we hope will give us performance.

For more information:

Toyota TF107 Technical Specifications
Luca Marmorini Q & A (Engine)
Pascal Vasselon Q & A (Chassis)
Ralf Schumacher Q & A (Driver)
Jarno Trulli Q & A (Driver)

[Ed]

The TF107

[gkaytaz]

Admitted, the car looks neat but that alone is not enough. Between Ralfie, the wall at turn 13 of Indy and Trulli's race pace I don't see them getting a win this year. Maybe a couple of podiums at best. They need a good coach to bring out the passion and greed in their drivers.

[Ed]

The Q&A's above make some interesting reading. Here are some extracts:

Luca Marmorini - Engine
Q:How much did the forthcoming engine freeze influence your thinking last year?
A: First of all, the uncertainties influenced us a lot. For a long time it was not clear what was planned, which for us meant keeping a lot of parallel projects alive to try to cover everything. That was the first issue. Secondly, there was the idea of introducing a rev limiter but, even if this was discussed before, no-one thought it would go to 19,000rpm. We planned to introduce an engine during last season that was designed to rev much higher. It was an engine to finish the season with, and then properly introduce for 2007. Once it was clear that we had to homologate an engine in 2006 for 2007, we had to stop, so it was a big waste of resources and time.

Q: You handed the FIA the ‘reference’ engine in Brazil last year. Are you happy with it as a base for the next few years?
A: We think it’s a good base, but as a racing team we were not happy about development restrictions because we were thinking of a lot of development we wanted to carry out. The FIA has limited the possibility of re-tuning, which means that a lot of planned development that should have gone on the engine had to be stopped. As an engineer, this is something that I don’t like!

Pascal Vasselon - Chassis
Q: What are the most significant changes compared with last year?
A: We have several major changes in terms of packaging. The engine has moved forward, the gearbox has moved forward and the front of the monocoque is higher. Most of these changes I would say are driven by the aero development of the car. The car allows us to introduce new suspension systems as well, which concept will be developed in several steps.

Q: What sort of upgrades do you have planned?
A: We have a roll-out version, we will have a completely new aero package for the first race, and then a second major upgrade coming quite early in the season, just after the flyaway races. Then we will of course develop race specific packages, high downforce, low to mid downforce, and the Monza package. Apart from these major milestones, the norm will be to bring upgrades to every single race.

Q: What benefit have you achieved from switching to Bridgestone tyres in 2006 ?
A: I would say it’s definitely helped in terms of the collaboration process. We have installed a very good partnership with Bridgestone, we know the people who are taking care of us so in terms of process we are working well.
However, in terms of adaptation to the tyres, we are back to tyres which are based on 2005 solutions, which the Toyota team doesn’t know and are very different to the 2006 concept. Thus from the technical aspect of discovering the new tyre character, we are in very similar conditions to all other teams

Ralf Schumacher
Q: What is your personal ambition for 2007?
A: At the moment I want to win a race with Toyota, because the team deserves success for all the hard work they put in. Obviously the World Championship is the main target for every driver, and I am still pushing for that. But at the moment it is just the pleasure of driving an F1 car that gives me motivation. I am enjoying my job, and I am really enjoying being part of this team. I simply love what I am doing. I am only 31, and I am still motivated. If I wasn’t I would not be doing this job! I have found that working for a team like Toyota actually becomes more and more enjoyable, because I feel so comfortable here within the Toyota structure. I have always enjoyed my time at Toyota from the very start, but now I do so more than ever.

Jarno Trulli
Q: You are starting a new three-year contract. What does that say about your belief in the potential of the team?
A: When you start working with a team, and straight away you have good results like I did in 2005, you are very optimistic for the future, especially when you look at the resources of the team, the capability and the potential. Last season didn’t show the true potential of the team, so from my point of view I needed a long-term contract in order to have the continuity inside the team. I strongly believe that I can win races with Toyota. It’s not something that’s going to happen easily but I believe Toyota has the potential to do great things and eventually win the championship.

[Southernman]

I can see Toyota getting a couple of podium finishers when the big guns have DNF's but not on merit alone.

Both Ralf and Trulli I rate as journeyman drivers who will be fighting for the minor points.

[<T-K>]

Both Ralf and Trulli I rate as journeyman drivers who will be fighting for the minor points.

Stealing points from the Williams and Red Bull drivers......

[jacfan]

It is hard to imagine Ralf or Jarno being that competitive but I guess one never knows.... there was a time when people began to wonder if Ferrari would win and then would they ever lose.

[gkaytaz]

It is hard to imagine Ralf or Jarno being that competitive but I guess one never knows.... there was a time when people began to wonder if Ferrari would win and then would they ever lose.

Guess you're referring to the 1980-2001 period... Yeah but Ferrari had a history with some success, which meant that a comeback wouldn't have been a big surprise. Same story with McLaren and Williams (albeit they seem to be a tad far at the moment)... Toyota have yet to prove themselves.

[jacfan]

It is hard to imagine Ralf or Jarno being that competitive but I guess one never knows.... there was a time when people began to wonder if Ferrari would win and then would they ever lose.

Guess you're referring to the 1980-2001 period... Yeah but Ferrari had a history with some success, which meant that a comeback wouldn't have been a big surprise. Same story with McLaren and Williams (albeit they seem to be a tad far at the moment)... Toyota have yet to prove themselves.

I first started watching in about 83 so I remember listening to people asking when Ferrari would return to form. Then along came Schumi and things changed and suddenly McLaren and Williams were no longer the leading force. They all seem to go in cycles.

[gkaytaz]

I first started watching in about 83 so I remember listening to people asking when Ferrari would return to form. Then along came Schumi and things changed and suddenly McLaren and Williams were no longer the leading force. They all seem to go in cycles.

You think this year will be Ferrari's downfall then?

Anyway, interesting to see that everyone thinks the same of Toyota; few podiums but nothing more

[Ed]

TF107 launch highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E50ahGlds3c

[gkaytaz]

Looks okay. Let's see how well it will drive.

[Julian Mayo]

Looks like the ferrari

[JayVee]

Toyota remind me of Honda/BAR a few years ago .....

Sorry but they will have a bad year.

Wasn't there a serious Ralf Schumacher fan here ? I'd like to hear his/her predictions