Information about Toyota

This Japanese manufacturer is a relative newcomer to the sport but supplies engines to a second team and had made some impressive headway by 2005 having only entered F1 three years earlier. Their first seasons saw them finish last, then eighth twice, with no-name drivers. With the signing of Jarno Trulli and Ralph Schumacher 2005 turned out to be a very successful season with the highlight being the second and fourth places in Bahrain, and the low point being the serious high-speed accident suffered by Schumacher in Indianapolis, leading to the controversial 'tyres boycott' of seven of the teams. They finished fourth in the 2005 Constructors' Championship, piped by Ferrari and gained two poles. 2006 turned out to be an erratic and disappointing season as they dropped to sixth overall, scoring half of the points they did in 2005, and managing just one podium. 2007 was even worse for them, scoring just 13 points from a handful of 7th and 8th finishes with 6th their best result in the US. Dogged by retirements, Ralph Schumacher has left the team for 2008 after several years and will sit out F1 this year.

Base: Köln, Germany Drivers: Jarno Trulli (ITA), Timo Glock (GER) (test driver: K. Kobayashi)

Jarno Trulli switched to F3000, after having won a number of karting championships in his youth. Here he showed his innate talent and went on to win the 1996 German F3000 championship. Soon after he was signed by Minardi in 1997, making his F1 debut in Melbourne. Mid-season her left Minardi and joined Prost for two seasons, coming an impressive second in the German Grand Prix. But with mechanical problems in the team Trulli left for Jordan in 2000. With two unimpressive years, he moved to Renault in 2002, finishing eighth in the Drivers' title two years running. 2004 was his best year yet, with two poles and a victory at Monaco but he left the team three races before the end of the season, having underperformed in the latter half, and joined Toyota. Consistently finishing in the points in most the races he finishes, he scores Toyota's best results, finishing second twice but again had a lacklustre second half to finish below teammate Ralph in the final standings. 2006 was far less impressive and he eventually finished 14th overall, second to his teammate. He fared not much better in 2007 finishing 13th overall, achieving just four points finishes as the car failed to deliver like it did in 2005.

Statistics
Date of birth: 13 July 1974
First Grand Prix win: Monaco 2004
Number of Grand Prix driven: 183
Grand Prix wins: 1
Pole positions: 3
Podiums: 7
Career points: 184

Timo Glock: a graduate of the BMW ADAC circuit (which he won in 2001) and German Formulas Three, he made his debut as a last minute stand in for Giorgio Pantano and surprisingly scores a 7th place finish in the Jordan at the Canadian GP. He raced three more times that season then spent two years in the GP2 series winning it in 2007. Wins a seat for 2008 with Toyota following sessions as an F1 test driver.

Statistics
Date of birth: 18 March 1982
Number of Grand Prix driven: 4
Grand Prix wins: 0
Pole positions: 0
Podiums: 0 (highest finish: 7th)
Career points: 2

Technical details and statistics:
Chassis: TF108 Engine: Toyota RVX-08 Tyre: Bridgestone First season: 2002
World championships: 0
Highest race finish (number of times): 2 (2)
Pole position: 2
Official web-site: http://www.toyota-f1.com

note: Statistics up to the end of 2007 season