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Toyota F1 Driver Appeals to Frustrated Fans

Agent009 submitted on 03/23/2007 Official AutoSpies Timestamp: 11:53 AM
from: thestar.com.my

[39] user comments | category: Spy Shots

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Toyota F1 Driver Appeals to Frustrated Fans

Formula One driver Ralf Schumacher has asked Toyota fans to be patient.

Toyota, who are celebrating their 50th year in motor sports this year, have yet to win a Formula One race in five seasons.

Schumacher finished eighth in the season-opener in Melbourne last Sunday, with Italian teammate Jarno Trulli ninth but said his third season with the Japanese team was looking promising.

Finland's Kimi Raikonnen won the season-opener in his first outing with Ferrari, followed by last year's champion Fernando Alonso in McLaren with the Spaniard's debutant teammate Lewis Hamilton third.

“Certainly it hasn't been as successful as I wished it to be,” said Schumacher. “My time with Toyota is looking good and promising. But as you have seen F1 is a difficult business and you need patience.

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02WRX - 3/23/2007 1:00:54 PM

+7 Boost

Toyota has been the laughing stock of F1 for five years. Hell, most teams would kill for a Toyota-sized budget and Toyota can't even manage to win a single race.

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Neverfollow - 3/23/2007 10:05:34 PM

-2 Boost

I think the real problem here is that you've got a bunch of German engineers and a German driver based in Germany, all trying to make an Asian car competitive. They've all just got to be standing around scratching there respective heads

Baapo - 3/23/2007 1:50:09 PM

+11 Boost

The Toyota's have the busiest aerodynamics of any F1 car; its almost as if aero bit are added to the chasis as an after-thought when the drivers realise the car is so poorly balanced...

I still think they have one of the best engines in F1, but they really need help in the chasis and aerodynamics department...

Consider this; Nico Rosberg who was using the exact same Toyota engine but combined with a Williams F1 chasis came ahead of Ralf, and also has a fastest lap that was over 1 sec quicker than the Toyota F1 car...

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TheSailor - 3/23/2007 5:15:58 PMView My AgentSpace

+1 Boost

Yearh... The Toyota engines have been among the best ever since they joined F1. Actually, there were speculations that they had the most powerful engine he first year they were in the championship...Between the engines and their huge budget, it is really a mystery why they don't fair better than they do!

Neverfollow - 3/23/2007 10:07:09 PM

+2 Boost

They need to stop "Ricing" out the car!

rocker - 3/23/2007 1:53:06 PM

-1 Boost

I think another factor might be driver selection they have yet to fork over big money to a top tier driver, maybe Michael will come out of retirement?

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Neverfollow - 3/23/2007 10:08:23 PM

+3 Boost

That will never happen!, especially for Toyota. He doesn't need the money that even Toyota could give him.

SupraNeverBack - 3/23/2007 3:01:50 PM

-5 Boost

Toyota spent money on wrong people including their two average drivers.

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izfuney - 3/23/2007 4:03:21 PM

+8 Boost

Why do som manypeople talk crap about f1 without understanding even a bit what it takes for F1 teams to be successsful.
Ferrari is on a roll since Schumacher joined them back in 95. They were somewhat aok in 94/95.
Prior to that they had goen through a 12 year drought.
Mclaren Mercedes ...Despite tying up with the best chasis designers of the day they havent quite got the same game they had back in 97 -98
BMW - they have sucked in F1 too. With no wins coming since they joined.

So what does it take to be successful in f1. Obviously, manufacturuer bring money, but the dedicated team to beuild world beater cars takes time and patience.

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TheSailor - 3/23/2007 5:24:28 PMView My AgentSpace

+8 Boost

Montoya won the Grand Prix at Interlagos in 2004 in a Williams BMW...
It is correct that BMW didn't have any wins in last season, but it was their first season as an independant team! Also, no other team than Renault and Ferrari had any wins (except for the one where Honda and Button got lucky)...

SupraNeverBack - 3/23/2007 5:51:52 PM

+1 Boost

Williams-BMW is not BMW, just like Williams-Toyota.

Because in recent years, Toyota is the only team built from scratch, of course they need spend some money including renewing its Fuji Speedway to hold the coming Japan F1 GP.

Toyota F1 just have wrong people in hand right now. Thing won't change too much until they get drivers like Alonso, Raikkonen.

TheSailor - 3/23/2007 5:54:56 PMView My AgentSpace

+4 Boost

And they won't get drivers like Raikkonen and Alonso until things change...

TheSailor - 3/24/2007 6:28:03 AMView My AgentSpace

0 Boost

Idiot... So what if you've had a bit of problems with some corollas?! That is just stupid! That is like I never want to go on a ship again because a few cruise missiles missed their target (Both maritime instruments and cruise missiles are build by the same company).

The era where standard car parts found their way into F1-cars is long gone! The Toyota F1 team is German and the only thing they share with the car company "Toyota" is the name and their bank account!

TruenoAE86 - 3/25/2007 9:23:10 PM

+4 Boost

"Because in recent years, Toyota is the only team built from scratch."

That's not totally correct because Toyota got quite a lot of materials from Ferrari.... illegally.

From wikipedia: "2004 also saw Toyota being accused of industrial espionage in the case of stolen data files from Ferrari. This following a season where many Formula 1 fans commented on similiarities of the Toyota TF104 to the Ferrari F2003-GA."

d1sinfo - 3/23/2007 4:59:07 PM

+1 Boost

I never knew there were so many insightful f1 fans on Autospies. You guys should start a team. Find a principal and your off. I mean with your aerodynamics knowledge, driver picking insight, and engine knowledge you guys will be right on your way to a championship.

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TheSailor - 3/23/2007 5:27:32 PMView My AgentSpace

+5 Boost

Ohh come on... Don't say that you've never done the same! Sat there behind the tv watching some sports event and just scream at the coach of your favorite team because you are sure that you could do it much better!
It is one of the things that define us as men... That we think that we could do anything better than any expert!

TheSailor - 3/23/2007 5:30:36 PMView My AgentSpace

0 Boost

I really don't understand why Toyota is doing so bad! On paper, they should be among the teams competing for the world championship, but they are strugling just to gather points!

I do have to say though that i admire their persistence! Most oher companies would have pulled the plug by now!

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Anthony - 3/24/2007 12:49:35 AM

-1 Boost

Most other companies would have run out of money by now.

chewy - 3/23/2007 6:23:03 PMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

Fact is that Toyota has not achieved any measurable sucess in its 6 years. With a top tier budget every single year. A budget that was rumored to be the highest for many of those years.

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sewingmachine - 3/23/2007 9:26:55 PM

0 Boost

their suxing cause they pay crapload of money to these, has been drivers. i think ralp gets around 16 million a year, and he sux. trulli, even worse.

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huu76 - 3/23/2007 10:27:53 PM

-2 Boost

1 race down, 17 left to go?

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chewy - 3/23/2007 10:50:02 PMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

17*0=0???

TheSailor - 3/24/2007 6:14:44 PMView My AgentSpace

+2 Boost

Hmm Chewy... You do have to be fair... They did get one point, so it should be 17 * 1 = 17... plus the one they've already got... That is 18 points! That is very respectable... If you are a low budget team!

TheSailor - 3/24/2007 10:09:47 AMView My AgentSpace

+2 Boost

"F1 specialist"?!? Do you mean expert or do you work in Formula 1?! Because then you would know that for the first one or two seasons, the big established teams feared Toyota because of their fearsome engine! It is only in the last few years that people have lost the interest in Toyota because they haven't shown any sign of approval...

BTW: How do you become an "F1 specialist"?! I watch as much F1 as I can (but reception isn't that good in the middle of the pacific so i can't watch all the grand prix) and I read quite alot about, but i still wouldn't consider myself a "specialist" nor an expert...

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izfuney - 3/24/2007 3:28:30 PM

0 Boost

Sevorbeupstry - "I am a F1 specialist"
For everybody on this forum who got confused by the above remark, as it implies that a mentally soft twat who get his pants soiled on the mention of BMW is some how working for the premier Formula racing league.
Dont fear, for what he actually means is that he will give us more of him unsubstantiated Euro tripe with an extra flourish and vigor . Oh yes.. and BMW will double soil his pants this time ...

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Will_ - 3/24/2007 6:21:35 PM

+2 Boost

Must mean a "former" F1 specialist if even that at all. I'm curious why an "F1 specialist" has so much time to spend on this site, and more importantly, why an "F1 specialist" owns an Audi A8 of all cars?

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TheGenius - 3/24/2007 7:16:16 PM

+2 Boost

Toyota's problem is pretty clear: they have half-way decent drivers, and a useless car!! Lets start with Jarno. He's actually a good driver. He was excellent in F3, and came into F1 with some hype, but he has the habit of falling backwards during the race, and does not show any fire in the belly or the killer instinct that seperates garden variety drivers from real champs. Even in a really good car, he likely to end up like a Barichello: winless!
Ralf is a joke! When he first started out in F1, he was accident prone..Now that he pays more attention to his driving instead of day dreaming about how often his brother spanks him, he doesn't crash as often. However, he's certainly no star. The only thing he has in common with Mike Schumacher is the last name. He should retire from F1 and go open a chain of restaurants or something...
Now lets look at the Toyota team. See race reliability results from 2006 below
San Marino – Steering (Jarno)
European GP – Engine (Ralf)
Spanish GP – Electronics (Ralf)
Monaco – Hydraulics (Jarno)
Canada - Ralph Retired (Engine problem not specified)
French – Brakes (Jarno)
Hungarian – Engine (Jarno)
China - Suspension (Jarno), Oil pressure (Ralf)
Brazil - Suspension (Jarno & Ralf)
So much for Toyota reliability! The Toyota is a lemon, and shows no performance. (if you recall the Mclarens broke down a number of times last year, but the performance was there so when they were working at least they scored points which is why they ended up 3rd in constructors.) However, you can't score points if your car is slow and spends more time in the shop than on the road. I guess that's what the rumored $200MM/year gets you: Mechanics with permanent jobs, and the F1 joke team of the century I would like to be a fly on the wall when the Team managers present their achievements to Toyota top brass every year...I'm sure it all fits on one powerpoint slide!

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TheGenius - 3/24/2007 8:24:53 PM

-1 Boost

SIDE-BAR: EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL FOR WILL!

WIll, the "F1 specialist" drives an A8, because its the best and most well rounded premium luxury car: period!! Any real driver will get it if they review all the cars in that segment. All others are good in some aspects but inadequate in others. The A8 is the class valedictorian; "A"s across the board, no Bs..basically the best or near best in every aspect and weak in none. A dumb statement like that means you haven't even been in one..not to mention owning any car in that segment.. Allow me to educate you....for the record I drive an A8L..bought it after looking at many cars some not even worth mentioning and here's my quick assessment below. Nothing, and I repeat nothing this side of a Roller beats sitting down in the Amaretto interior of the A8, and cruising down the highway....nothing!!! Check it out yourself if you think I'm kidding.

S550 A8 750 LS

Design A+ A+ A B-
*Ride Comfort-very bad roads A+ A- A A+
Interior/ergonomics A- A+ B A-
Key Features Pretty much the same...
Fit/Finish/materials A+ A+ A- A
Performance A+ A A A-
All Round Handling B+ A+ A C-
Fun to Drive A- A+ A+ C-
Road Presence A+ A A B-

*Likely to be less than 5% of your drive depending..will not matter if you're in Germany or the Burbs in the US, but you may care if you drive into NYC a lot or live there.

Luxury / Sport Mix
S Class: 60% luxury 40% Sport
A8: 50% Luxury 50% Sport
7-series: 60% Sport 40% luxury
LS -90% Luxury 10% sport

reply to this comment

Zackary - 3/26/2007 1:45:05 AM

+3 Boost

Your little report card of all the luxury sedans couldn't be any more subjective. Back to Will's point, what does a supposed "F1 specialist" want with an A8? A car with subpar handling and the blandest styling in the class is hardly the dreamcar of someone who's profession deals with the best-handling machines in all of motorsports.

huu76 - 3/25/2007 11:26:29 AM

0 Boost

So 95% of the time, you're doing 100mph around a corner? Maybe LS owners are wealthy enough to hire a chauffeur?

We have a lot more real estate in North America, luxury plays are large role for the ppl who are not brainwashed to think they're Eurotrash (yupppies, FOBs and raisin-nuts).

I was in Toronto yesterday, I noticed I saw more Lexus' (most notably the new IS) than BMWs and MB. Strangely enough though, the most I saw were Audi A4s. Must've been a busy day at the BMW/MB repair shop.

I saw my first real life LS too, talk about attention getter. The 5 and 3 on my left looked like old luncheon meat (might as well not have even been there) compared to the LS on my right. All 3 cars were driven by geezers.

Anyway, how much does racing success translate into sales? BMW and its 1-series should be hitting 10 million sales if they can beat Toyota on the racetrack.

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