F1: 2009 Season Review

Formula 1

F1: 2009 Season Review - Toyota

A look back at the 2009 Formula One season for Toyota...

SPEED Staff | Posted November 23, 2009 Charlotte, NC

Click Here for a look back at the 2009 Toyota Grand Prix season. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Toyota: Formula One Grand Prix Team

Team Principal: Tadashi Yamashina

Drivers: Jarno Trulli, Timo Glock, Kamui Kobayashi (two rounds)

Constructors Finish: 5th (59.5 points)

Best Finish: 2nd (Twice) Glock (Singapore), Trulli (Suzuki)

Poles: 1 (Bahrain)

Chassis: TF109 Engine: Toyota RVX-09

www.toyota-f1.com/

The team never seemed to get their TF109 to perform consistently especially during the latter half of 2009 and especially during qualifying. There were races when the team looked very strong, while others they seemed to struggle.

The year started badly for Trulli who had a podium finish taken away after the opening round in Australia when stewards said he had passed Lewis Hamilton illegally during a safety car period. The 25-second penalty came on the heels of a rear wing infringement, which forced the team to start from the pit lane.

At Bahrain the team took the front row starting spots with Trulli winning pole and Glock taking second. Trulli would finish third but be forced to wait until Suzuka to once again stand on the podium. At Brazil he was embroiled in controversy after being involved in an accident with Adrian Sutil and eventually fined $10,000 for confronting Sutil after the first lap crash.

Timo Glock had a promising early season finishing outside the points in only two of the first ten races, including a third in Malaysia, but seemed to fizzle out as the season wound down with his only highlight on the track being a second place finish in Singapore.

In September it was learned that Toyota would not pick up Glock’s 2010 option. Shortly after Glock’s season, and his Toyota tenure, would end after a practice crash in Suzuki left him with fractured vertebrae.

Test driver Kamui Kobayashi, who staged gallant performances in final two races of the year, replaced Glock. Kobayashi raised eyebrows in his first Grand Prix when he drove defensively holding off soon to be world champion Jenson Button for a time at Interlagos and finished ninth. He followed that up with a brilliant sixth place at Abu Dhabi. The performances for Kobayashi gave him hope for a full time seat at Toyota in 2010.

The future for Kobayashi and all of Toyota came to an abrupt end though when shortly after the season ended, Toyota made the stunning announcement they would withdrawal from Formula One immediately.

While Toyota management assured Kobayashi they would help him secure a ride for 2010, Glock and Trulli were left on their own. Glock signed with the new Manor GP team, while Trulli headed to the States to test a NASCAR Sprint Cup car. He has been linked to Lotus F1 although while testing in the US he denied having committed to any team.

“I haven't signed with anyone yet and I've talked to teams,” the Italian told the Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) website after running almost 300 laps of Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway in the team’s Toyota Camry Cup car. “My door is open right now."

PHOTOS: Toyota 2009 Formula One Grand Prix Season Review