Toyota are one of the highest spending teams in F1 and aside from 2004 have been pathetic. They throw loads of money at the cars, have poor drivers, no passion and no history in F1. Like Honda, they dont look like they will ever be serious challengers in F1.
Williams are using the same engine and are well ahead of them in the championship on very limited funds. They are one of the greatest F1 teams of all time and Patrick Head and Frank Williams are pure racers. They also have an immense talent in Nico Rosberg.
No one likes Toyota, they are only a big company participating as part of a marketing ploy. They would get just as much exposure if they supplied Williams with engines, it wouldnt cost as much and they would have a better chance of success and a lot more followers(the japanese would still support them because they would make the engine and Williams have a large fanbase too)
Renault got just as much exposure when they supplied Williams with engines in the 90s as now.
2007-08-30 02:40:28 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports ➔ Auto Racing ➔ Formula One
Okay ill say this. I have never met a single Toyota f1 fan and i know lots of F1 fans.
2007-08-30 03:21:28 · update #1
val, if your in the Toyota stand there are Toyota fans there because most of them are Toyota employees. Just like most of the fans in the mercedes stand are Merc employees, or honda fans in Suzuka as they give their employees thousands of tickets for the home races.
2007-08-31 02:40:25 · update #2
I don't think they are staying in F1 for marketing and exposure purpouses, the amount of money they spend each your could get them a lot more if they took it to an advertising firm.
Every race they participate in, they are getting valuable research information for the development of their team. The thing with toyota F1 is that they cannot make descisions independently as a separate entity from the corporation. Every descision they make has to go through the bosses in Tokyo. This puts them at a disadvantage because they have to wait for approval and the bosses might want to review any changes they might want to make.
The toyota F1 team is in it's early stages right now, they have progressed a lot further than people may think. Give them a few more years, they'll be performing better than honda.
2007-08-30 04:09:55 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Obviously there is a reason why Toyota is staying with it.
What they have done wrong all along in my opinion is driver hirings. I do not dislike either of their current drivers, nor did I dislike their past drivers; but they've never had anyone come close to giving the team a win even when they had a couple of podiums.
Sure, they have had talented drivers--who honestly expected DaMatta to be a total flop in F1? But really, most of the time they have had "has beens" as drivers; the current pair being no exception.
Toyota needs a driver who can not only drive the car, but drive development. They need, in effect, what Ferrari got when they hired Michael Schumacher for 1996 and beyond. Where can they get it? Right now my only answer is Fernando Alonso if he is willing to take his two (or maybe three by then?) Championships and bugger off from McLaren and then make his way in the next couple of years pushing the team to new levels.
It won't be easy though. Toyota is a "third division" team, they've got a long way to go to make the top.
RP
2007-08-30 15:23:59 · answer #2 · answered by R P 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. Toyota needs to be in F1 and I think they will be there for a long time. I really don't know what is wrong with that team. For a few years they were considered to have the strongest engine in F1 but for some reason cannot get the aero package to work. Mike Gascoyne was supposed to be the great know it all in terms of aero packages but never got the job done.
Just last week I heard that Toyota had set both cars up to suit Ralf because he likes a pointy car with less rear grip. Well Jarno doesn't like that type of set up and said so. Then Ralf complains about a lack of rear grip, DUH!! Why not set up the cars to suit the individual drivers?
I think Toyota will stay in F1 as long as Honda does. I also think that Bernie threw Toyota a bone by moving the Japanese GP to Fuji because Toyota owns that track.
2007-08-30 20:06:43 · answer #3 · answered by Brad T 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. Since they are already in F1, why quit? It is very difficult for a team to join F1 in the first place. But obviously Toyota isn't doing too well- they are well known for being one of the backmarkers and with their current driver line-up (Trulli and Ralf), I don't think they can improve much.
There seems to be no motivation in Toyota. Everyone goes around thinking "I do my stuff, you do yours". There's hardly any cooperation which is the downfall of any team. Ralf and Trulli are hardly the best drivers on grid; they are just enjoying their fat paychecks and yet not driving like they deserve it.
But if Toyota carry on like this, then they should just supply Williams with engines. They are just wasting their time and loads of money on the car.
2007-09-01 06:08:31 · answer #4 · answered by , 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, right or wrong, F1 needs more people to be involved, not less. Toyota has a good record outside of F1. Hopefully they'll get it figured out. Maybe they are just using F1 as a testing ground for their Nascar efforts. How funny is that idea?
2007-08-30 09:46:10 · answer #5 · answered by Nc Jay 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i think they should stay. they just need to work on their reliability problems a bit more. i think both Ralf and Jarno would be a lot more competitive if they thought they had reliable machinery underneath them. As you say, they are a big spending team. if they concentrated on ironing out the gremlins I'm sure they could be competitive. just for the record, my sister is Ralf's biggest fan and i know lots of Toyota fans. if ever you are near the Toyota stand during a race weekend you will witness it for yourself. Ralf did an appearance at silverstone and Germany and the stand was packed with Toyota fans. as was France last year when Jarno did an appearance.
2007-08-30 17:46:44 · answer #6 · answered by val f1 nutter 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's just down to hard work, good drivers and sometimes luck. I don't think Toyota have the right combination at the moment. That doesn't mean to say it won't be with them next season. Look at Honda - Jensen Button won his first grand prix last year - where are they this year? Pretty much at the back of most races...
2007-08-30 10:06:40 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
theres not a team in F1 that can keep up with ferrari and mclaren, and its getting boring to watch even though this has been the most exciting season in a while. thats also why you dont see fans of many others teams, because its easy to jump on the bandwagon. i like jarno and ralf shumacher but i could care less what team they drive for. i would like to see a team take the spotlight from mclaren and ferrari like renault did the past two years.
2007-08-30 18:56:17 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They will pull it together sooner or later. Despite their huge F1 budget, it's still just pocket change to Toyota. Besides, F1 can barely come up with a full field of entrants.
2007-08-30 10:33:54 · answer #9 · answered by michinoku2001 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
whats hurting toyota more than anything is their location, germany being a right to work country, is hampering them.
they have a limated work week and cant fire personel once hired. so once they hire some one new they cant fire the guy hes replaceing. if toyota was serious about competing they need to drag up and move to a diffrent country where they can work more than 4 days a week, and hire and fire at will
2007-08-30 11:04:20 · answer #10 · answered by eyesinthedrk 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋