Formula 1

[Jeff F.]

I sure am disappointed in Toyota's F1 effort. With the team pouring uncounted millions(probably billions) into the very competetive world of F1.
I guess we start at the top with the designers and engineers who cannot seem to make improvements, aero wise, in the chassis. Then we get to the drivers, with Ralf S. just being a shadow of his family name. Agreed that its tough to equal anything his brother has done, but year after year of poor performance is just too much.
I had really high hopes for Toyota overall, no one exfpects a new team to be world beaters right out of the box. Looking at the strides other teams have done, BMW, for instance and with the money spent by Toyota, it sure is embarrasing to be almost at the bottom, struggling against teams that only spend one quarter of the money. What a shame.

Jeff

[Qslim]

Originally Posted by JJJJJJ

It takes time to build a F1 team, years and years. you need experienced engineers, competent crew, and skilled and talented drivers.

I see more BMWs disabled on the side of the road more then any other import make.

BMW, Mercedes, and Ferrari have great F1 teams but lousy build production and real world reliability.

You can't compare a companies premier racing team to their road car effort. Lineage from an F1 car to the road car effort is in emblem only. And the fact that Toyota has yet to mount a significant challenge is an example of how mind-numbingly complex building an F1 team must be. The top contenders like Ferrari, McLaren, Williams (not lately, but in general), and Renault have decades of experience to go on. As a matter of fact, disappointment should be one of the last things you should feel for the team if you are a racing fan. To have campaigned this long and spent this much money without consistent performances is indicative of the dedication that the company has to racing in the first place. How many non-legacy teams have spent a few seasons floundering as perennial backmarkers only to close shop and sell off? Jaguar, Jordan, Minardi (maybe a legacy, sort of), Ligier, Arrows, Lotus.....
Toyota has backed their effort with a budget so astronomical that if they pulled out at this point because they didn't win the WCC an entire high rise floor of Japanese business men would be falling to their deaths by choice.

I had really high hopes for Toyota overall, no one exfpects a new team to be world beaters right out of the box. Looking at the strides other teams have done, BMW, for instance and with the money spent by Toyota, it sure is embarrasing to be almost at the bottom, struggling against teams that only spend one quarter of the money. What a shame.

Another point here is that BMW didn't come on the F1 scene fresh like Toyota did. They bought Peter Saubers team (Sauber F1), one of the most successful private teams around. BMW havehad relationships with both Sauber and Frank Williams going back a long ways, so their factory campaign has had quite a head start.

Give them some time and do some real reading up on this sport to give yourself an idea of what goes on to even score a point in one of these races. Here are some good F1 reads:

Anything by Steve Matchett (The Chariot Makers, in particular)
Ferrari Formula 1 by Peter Wright
The Power Brokers by Alan Henry

[Lumberg]

If you want to root for Toyota in racing, have a look at NASCAR Sprint Cup. Joe Gibbs Racing is going to be very competitive.

Also, Ralf Schumacher is out of F1, and good riddance I say. I'd take Scott Speed or Tonio Liuzzi or even Adrian Sutil over that bum.

And while I've taken a Skip Barber course, no I am not a racecar driver or in any way qualified to pass judgement on a guy who could drive circles around me. But seriously, Ralf sucks.