Formula One news
Toyota all set for 2009
23 March 2009The Toyota team is ready to start its seventh season in Formula 1 and hopes to finally bring home its much awaited first Grand Prix victory. Italian Jarno Trulli starts his fifth consecutive full season with the Japanese squad as Timo Glock, who scored their best result last year, beings his all-important second year.
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The 2008 Australian Grand Prix came as a disappointment to Toyota as Trulli retired in the pit lane and Glock suffered a spectacular high-flying accident at the high-speed Turn 12 chicane in the final third of the race. After dropping back and losing fourth place to Renault in last year's Constructors' championship by 24 points, the team knows a good start to the season is vital.
"I am totally fired up for this season and I am feeling very positive about our chances," Trulli said. "The TF109 is the best Toyota I have driven in pre-season testing; it feels stable and gives me confidence but, more importantly, it seems to be pretty quick, even though it's hard to make too many judgments based on testing."
Timo Glock's drive to second position in Hungary last year, just a fortnight after a large rearward-facing accident in Germany, was the highlight of his career so far: "It's a different emotion to be starting my second year with Toyota compared to 2008, because now I am much more familiar with the team and I feel I can really start the season strongly. Last year it took a few races to find the right direction for me in terms of setup but I don't expect that to be a problem this season."
The two drivers rounded out the top ten of the championship last year and have openly expressed how Australia is a favourite destination of their own, resulting in large optimism as fans count down the remaining hours before practice begins. With the experience of Trulli combined with the potential of Glock, President John Howett is confident that Toyota can claim its first victory this year: "This is a big season for our team and we have set ourselves high targets; we exist to win so that is clearly the aim this season and we have every reason to be optimistic after our extremely positive testing results. This is our eighth season in Formula 1 and we have learnt a lot in that time - we are leaner, more experienced and better equipped to succeed."
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