Toyota report – Both cars at the finish… but only one point

Toyota finally found the points, or rather, the point, as the Japanese team hadn’t scored since the Hungarian Grand Prix three months ago. The performances in Brazil were encouraging but too late.

Trulli brings back this sole point while Ralf Schumacher finishes his last race with the team in 11th position. A once again mediocre result for the German, especially since only 14 cars made it to the finish line.

The important thing was to get ahead of Honda in the championship, objective achieved, despite both Japanese teams not shining this season.

2008 will be a turning point for the team. The roster changes. Schumacher and Montagny will leave, and the team hopes to finally be able to compete for victory in 2008.

Jarno Trulli – 8th

« I am happy to end the season with a finish in the points, the first in a long time. I haven’t been lucky recently, but things finally went better. We all had to manage the tires today. We took the risk of making three pit stops, and this 8th place is, in the end, a good result. It will provide extra motivation for the team as we head into the winter. »

« I would like to thank everyone because the season was not easy, but we never gave up. This is the most important aspect for preparing for the future, along with improving the car and its performance. I believe we have the potential and that we can be better positioned on the grid next year. »

« I wish Ralf good luck, we lived through three years of intense and fair competition and worked together to help the development of the team.

Ralf Schumacher – 11th

« It was very hot, but it wasn’t a problem, and the car was nice to drive after a somewhat difficult start. I found myself sandwiched between the Toro Rosso cars at the start and lost a bit of ground. But I had a pretty good race. »

« This was my last time with Toyota, and it’s certainly sad to leave the team after 3 years. The season was challenging in terms of results, but we did our best. The team worked hard, and we made many changes to the car this year. It was a pleasure to work with everyone, both at the factory and on the private and Grand Prix test tracks. I’ve had some great years here, and I hope to see some people again for a drink sometime. »

Tadashi Yamashina – General Director

« We scored a point and are very happy about it. Jarno did a very good job, it’s the kind of race we were hoping for. It’s important to maintain your starting grid position in the first laps of the race. If we manage that, we can have a good race. Unfortunately, Ralf didn’t have as good a first lap but did his best and could have finished in the top 10. He lost some aerodynamic elements in the first corner and had a wheel nut problem during his first pit stop, which cost him a place. »

« I would like to thank Ralf for these 3 years. His contribution to the development of the team has been enormous and I wish him all the best. »

« It was also the last racing weekend for Franck Montagny, but he will continue to drive for us until the end of 2007. We will of course use our return to the points as a springboard and will do our best to further develop the car for next season.

According to Toyota F1