Formula One news
John Howett Interview
31 August 2004 |
| John Howett |
Toyota has made no secret of its disappointment at being seventh in the constructors' championship ahead of just Jaguar, Jordan and Minardi. Although Toyota has one of the largest budgets of any team in the pit lane, it has struggled to score regular points. However, the team's plans run years into the future as F1Racing.net reporters Stijn Keuris and Roland Mather found out when they caught up with the team's ambitious president John Howett.
John Howett, Toyota is into its third year in Formula One - is this the toughest season so far?
No, I don't think so. Of course it is a tough year, but we are making progress in many areas. The results on track are a bit disappointing but those results don't always show the progress that has actually been made. We've made many changes this season and improved a lot in the team.
One of those changes was to replace Cristiano da Matta with Ricardo Zonta for the rest of the season. Why?
Mainly because we're preparing for next season. Ricardo (Zonta) has done a great job during testing and during Friday's free practice sessions although most of the time he would run on older tyres and heavy fuel loads. We thought it was more than fair and reasonable to give him the chance to prove himself in the final six races.
Does Ricardo have a genuine chance to race for the Toyota team in 2005?
Yes, absolutely.
There are a lot of rumours that Jarno Trulli has already signed for Toyota. Are you saying these rumours are false?
We're talking to a number of drivers at the moment and we won't make a secret of it that one of them is Jarno Trulli. We are also talking to other drivers that are currently racing in F1.
What about Jacques Villeneuve, is he a possible candidate for 2005?
No, he is not on our list. What are Olivier Panis' chances of keeping his job for next season?We'll have to wait and see. Olivier is very quick and he is exceptionally good as a development driver. We are talking to him about next season. It's just up to us to decide who will be the best option to team up with Ralf Schumacher in 2005. We already have a very good driver signed up for next season in Ralf but we need someone now than can work with him.
Does that mean Ralf will become the number 1 driver within the team?
No, we will also make sure that both cars are equal. We have the capacity to set-up two competitive cars and so we will.
Why has Toyota spent a lot of money hiring Ralf Schumacher?
There is a lot of talk about the money involved, but these rumours are not always true. We pay Ralf a salary that is realistic and representative of his position in the driver market. He is a driver that has proven that he can score pole positions and win races. We think Ralf is very dedicated to his work, talented and has a lot of passion that all fits within our team.
Your team manager Ange Pasquali and race and test team manager Norbert Kreyer have left the team. Why did you make this decision?
Norbert went from the engine department to the race team department. The new role within the team didn't really suit him we found. We have a lot of respect for what he has achieved for us, especially in other racing projects. We came to an agreement with him so we could tighten up our organisation. We want to make decisions at the track easier and quicker and that is why a reorganisation was needed.
Is Da Matta still under contract with the Toyota team and will the team try to help him to secure a drive in any other series?
I cannot comment on that because it's not my responsibility. I focus on Formula One and other people within Toyota focus on other racing series. It's obvious that Toyota has good connections with teams in the US but we have to see and wait if that could help Cristiano somehow. He has a contract with our Formula One team until the end of the season and it's still possible he could test for us later this season.
There are a lot of rumours recently Toyota could supply another team with engines in 2005.
That's not something we really want, it's more that other teams need an engine supplier - especially when the regulations are going to be changed again. We have the possibility to supply engines to a second team but at the moment we are busy enough solving our own problems. It's not really a matter of being willing to supply another team but also if we are ready to do so if we're asked to supply another team.
Are you talking to the Jordan team concerning engines?
We are not talking to any teams currently about engine supplies. A number of teams have approached us asking if they could use our engines but we haven't looked at that yet.
When will we see the Toyota team racing for victories in Formula One?
It is difficult to say when we can race for the World Championship, but I expect that in about two or three years we can race for victories in Formula One.
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