Toyota outside 107% ??

[economy_waffle]

well if they r the new BAR, god help us...

wot u gotta remember is that toyota have a whole season and pre-season to test the car, do developments etc.

THEY HAVENT EVEN GOT A COMPLETE FACTORY YET!!!

[Nicholas]

Originally posted by Jersound

I don't think that Toyota are obliged to talk about their testing times with anyone.

Obviously, but while I wouldn't be the first to say how rubbish my team would be, do they have to pretend that they are better than what they really are? Anderssen didn't have to say anything about the car's performance, but instead he chose to boast about how the cars could already line up 14th this year (but only start to challenge for points the year after next).

Although Brunner should sort things out a bit, they'll really look like idiots if they don't make the seventh row. Sorry to include so many BAR references but... oh I won't bother. As someone mentioned earlier, they are making their own engine too, but you don't get sympathy points in F1 and it may not necessarily be worth the bother.

Originally posted by EERO

It seems to me that Toyota are serious, are going about the process right but that it will take time to put all the pieces together-but for now, its TOO early to tell one way or the other.

True, I can't realistically believe that they'll fail to make the 107% time come Melbourne anymore.

[Nicholas]

I have read somewhere that the times in Monza where good for the 15th position on the grid from the year 2000

Oh, Anderrsen being clever then! When one says, "recent" I suppose it depends on which year it is doesn't it.

[JeremySmith]

Because that is how the PR machine works they are never going to admit that they are worse are they? Mr Anderssen would be far better served in saying that Toyota's progress is satisfactory at this time...He is making the same mistake that Jaguar made when they came into F1, loads of "pomp and circumstance" without having the car to back it all up..The less said by the team the better..Of course the press are always going to rearrange the facts to suit themselves..IMHO Mr Brunner will totaly re-design the car before we see it in action

[Nicholas]

He is making the same mistake that Jaguar made when they came into F1, loads of "pomp and circumstance" without having the car to back it all up..The less said by the team the better

That's true but then Jag had already won a grand prix the year before, and enough points to put them in 4th place.

IMHO Mr Brunner will totaly re-design the car before we see it in action

Quite likely, I think. The engine's still a bit of an unknown quantity, though (but then at this stage you could say that about everything except Salo and Brunner)

[JeremySmith]

Hello Nicholas!

It's so hard for us to know really..Maybe Toyota are running the engine somewhat de-tuned for testing, just to gain data?? Even a company with the power of Toyota it must find it hard to have to play catch up before they has even raced.

I would prefer to hear next too nothing from them..A small launch when they do arrive and then let the car and driver do the talking for them..I question their choice of drivers,what do you think?..

I like the Peter Sauber approach very subdued in a way, the press are not paying too much attention to Kimi or Nick, but the team are showing positive results..Jaguar for instance are still caught up in all their own hype, and I feel it will remain that way..Bobby Rahal gives interviews but never says anything of substance..Throw enough Ford $$$$$$ at the wall and something is bound to stick.. Do you agree?

[Nicholas]

From their first launch, from what I heard I was expecting a rather low-key attitude, with the team expecting to start scoring points in the second year.

However Salo apparently predicted to qualify on the second row of the grid in Melbourne 2002, which could mean that he "expects" Toyota to do well (in the same way that JV expects BAR to do extremely well or otherwise it's bye-bye) or it could mean that he's just being silly. (Or drunk, who knows? )

Allan McNish effectively said at the launch that Toyota wouldn't do a BAR: "We aren't arrogant enough to say that we will win first time out," but it kind of contradicts with what Salo said.

I suppose testing in secret is alright if you don't want to get negative vibes from the press left right and centre too; if you want to compare your times with the rest of the paddock you just do what they've done at Monza or Imola.

Then after I heard that Toyota was well off the pace, I read an interview with Anderrson that said that they were already competetive, etc. conveniently forgetting to define what "recent" means. It took me a while to realise that I couldn't actually accuse him of lying because of him not making the difference between 2000 and 2001, quite clever of him but what's the point of him to increase expectations?

Anyway, about their drivers, I don't really know. Mika Salo should be alright in the short-term at least (ie the first year where they qualify 4th in Melbourne, then 14th at every other race, and still fail to score any points). The trouble is, he appears to be one of the most inconsistent drivers around. He was pretty irrelavent in 2000, but sometimes he can be really fast, a la Germany 1999.

I don't know about McNish, but I'm sure that if they looked harder they could have found some better drivers. Anyway they've got almost an entire year to look around.

The Sauber approach is good, that's true, (I've never come across any quotes from him) but with Sauber until now one had the impression that they actually enjoyed coming seventh or eighth in the constructors championship.

With Jag, money seems to be solving the problems (a prime example could have been Newey leaving Mclaren), and their recent points haul seems to reflect this. Of course, the fact that Alesi also scored points in both of Jag's points-scoring occasions could disprove Monaco and Canada as flukes, but F1 is powered by the "cubic dollar" (interestingly Bobby Rahal said that) and I'm sure Jaguar will sort it's problems out eventually. Even if it takes half a decade.