Toyota willingly lets Ralf Schumacher go

Ralf Schumacher announced yesterday his departure from the Japanese team at the end of this season. The management confirmed to the press and accepted his departure. They also expressed their sentiments.

The President of Toyota F1, John Howett, stated that the announcement of the German driver would not change the Japanese manufacturer’s prospects for the 2008 season in any way. It would only allow them to remove a name from the list of potential candidates for the position of second driver, alongside Jarno Trulli.

« We accept Ralf [Schumacher]’s decision and wish him all the best for his future, » commented Howett in a report.

« Fundamentally, this has no impact on our position. At the moment, we were searching the market for a new driver. So this is still the case.

« The only consequence will be that Ralf [Schumacher] will no longer be part of our list of candidates for the 2008 seats. We will make an announcement as soon as we have our line-up for 2008. »

The director of the Toyota team, Yamashina Tadashi, announced yesterday during a conference in Fuji that he was in no hurry to find a replacement driver for Schumacher.

Alonso still hasn’t made up his mind, and the transfers seem to be stalled.