Toyota and F1, a story that will last until 2012

Toyota has no intention of leaving Formula 1 anytime soon… The team, through its president John Howett, states that it will be present at least until 2012. Among other things, he denied that the Japanese team has been given a two-year deadline to succeed.

« The rumors that said we were going to leave the sport very soon have always been unfounded, » stated Howett in the columns of Gazzetta dello Sport.

« Having signed the ‘Concorde’ agreement, we are thus present at least until F1 in 2012. »

« We have never received any deadlines from the parent company in Japan regarding the next two years. »

The team principal Tadashi Yamashina, for his part, said at the beginning of this year in Toyota’s annual report on motorsport that the team had two more years to achieve success in F1.

« To become stronger, it is important to improve the overall level of organization rather than relying on the power of a single person. And my job is to mobilize the necessary resources to achieve this goal, » said Yamashina.

« I have two more years. So, we will work and fight to achieve these goals so that together, we can be proud of our journey. »

Yamashina, however, acknowledged that his words had been misinterpreted and insisted that there was never an ultimatum from Toyota.

« My words were misinterpreted. When I mentioned the two-year period to achieve results, it was in no way an ultimatum. I was not referring to Toyota’s presence in F1 but to the extent of my commitment, » he said.

Toyota, with one of the biggest budgets invested in this sport, hopes to win a race in F1 in the near future.