Formula One news

Exclusive interview John Howett

The Toyota Formula 1 team is not as good as the team is supposed to be. The Cologne-based team spends hundreds of millions to run with the best in Formula 1 but the team has to find itself in a disappointing sixth position in the championship standings. Team President John Howett caught up with GPUpdate.net to talk about the season so far.

How do you rate your season so far?
I have to say, we are not where we expected to be. The car has proven to be quick at times, quicker than people expected after wintertesting. In Barcelona, Jarno (Trulli) did great in qualifying, but then we had some technical problems. And also in Monaco we weren't as quick as we should have been. On Thursday it looked very promising, in qualifying we had some issues with the car and in traffic. And then on raceday we had some problems getting of the line with Jarno's car. Those were two races were we had to score points and we lost the lead which we had over the other teams at that time.

Are you happy with your current drivers?
I think we're very happy with our drivers. I think Ralf (Schumacher) is having a bit of a problem since he's not as quick as Jarno in a couple of races, but if you look down the paddock there are two or three other drivers that are having issues with the new tyres. I think they will solve their problems by changing the setup of the car. The main priority is to help him get more confidence and then he can push.

Why is Toyota so inconsistent?
I don't think there's one explanation. I think it's unacceptable. I guess performance wise we improved considerably between Australia and Bahrain and at that stage we were definitely behind BMW fighting with Renault and Red Bull. In Barcelona the pace looked very good with Jarno, but then we had some problems and in Monaco we were off the pace.

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• 13 Oct.
  • Alonso willing to help Massa
  • Brawn: China won't be any different
  • Hamilton blames Massa for crash
  • Kubica not giving up on championship
  • Alonso confident for last two races
• 12 Oct.
  • A point and a crash for Red Bull
  • Ferrari salvages eight crucial points
  • Kubica takes BMW's eleventh podium of season
  • McLaren reels from major blow
  • Second win crowns major Renault pay day
  • Bourdais penalty hands Massa extra point
  • No joy for Williams in Japan
  • Four home points for Toyota
  • Pointless day for Honda
  • Mixed feelings for Force India
  • Hamilton admits mistake, vows to stay aggressive
  • Delighted Alonso celebrates victory
  • Untouchable Alonso storms to second victory
  • Photos: Sunday at Fuji
• 11 Oct.
  • Honda to announce 2009 driver line-up after the season
  • Ferrari faces uphill battle
  • Williams struggles in qualifying
  • Another double top ten for Toro Rosso
  • McLaren delighted with qualifying
  • Back row again for Force India
  • BMW hopes rest with Kubica
  • Alonso keeps Renault competitive
  • Honda continues to struggle at Fuji
  • Photos: Saturday at Fuji
  • Mixed result at Red Bull Racing
  • Toyota team make it into top ten
  • Massa laments lack of grip
  • Hamilton happy on pole
  • Hamilton takes Japanese pole
  • Kubica on top in wet free practice
• 10 Oct.
  • Bridgestone expects grip to improve during the weekend
  • Buemi to steer medical car
  • Trouble-free day for McLaren
  • Positive day for Toro Rosso
  • Webber gives Red Bull hope

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