Against the spectations of many in the F1 paddock, Ralf and Toyota had a successful first year together, with two podiums (at Hungary and China) and a pole in Japan. (LAT Photo) » More Photos
Toyota's decision last year to invest heavily in Ralf Schumacher raised a few eyebrows, not least because of the German's trademark inconsistency. At Williams he could occasionally be in dominant form, but there were weekends when he didn't appear to be very interested. Was he really worth all that money? The rather silly joke in the paddock was that the badly informed bosses in Tokyo had written a check for the wrong Schumacher…
His new team gave him a chance to start afresh, and in an environment where the management was fully behind him and fully prepared to take advantage of the experience he'd gained with Williams. The cynics were not surprised when in the first part of the season he was comfortably outpaced by teammate Jarno Trulli, who is on a rather smaller salary.
But Ralf did at least pick up points on a regular basis, and by the end of the season was often able to match Trulli, helped when the revamped T105B proved more suited to his style. Highlights of the season were podiums in Hungary and in China, and an opportunistic pole at Suzuka. But perhaps his most impressive outing came at a soggy Spa, where the team in initially got its strategy right, and an inspired Ralf hustled his old pal Juan Pablo Montoya for the lead. Alas a poor tire choice at the next stop ruined his day.
The prototype of next year's car has already been out testing, and Ralf is much happier with it than Jarno. That's not surprising considering that the front end is developed from the TF105B that he clearly preferred. Adam Cooper spoke to Schumi Jr.
Q: This was your first season at Toyota. Did it turn out better than expected, or was there a little frustration along the way, especially with the Indy accident?
"No, no frustration at all. It went a lot better than expected. Accidents can and do happen in F1, so that's normal. It was in general a pretty successful season for us. I got points in nearly all the races, except the one or two where I didn't. We did better than everybody expected, even ourselves, honestly. We made a bigger step than we could expect."
Q: What were the races you enjoyed most?
"I don't know, there's no specific one. I enjoyed every race, basically. Some were a bit more difficult, some a lot easier, but I can't think of one specific one. Finishing third in Hungary was nice, it was a good race for both of us, third and fourth, and we scored a lot of points. Spain was good, but I missed a podium. There were quite a few good races this year.
Against the spectations of many in the F1 paddock, Ralf and Toyota had a successful first year together, with two podiums (at Hungary and China) and a pole in Japan. (LAT Photo) » More Photos
Q: The crash in Indy was obviously a low for you. Were there other disappointments?
"Not really. The biggest disappointment was Monaco, where I had the crash in qualifying, which was my own mistake. In Indianapolis it was a tire problem, so it was not disappointing. But Monaco was still a good race. It could have been a lot better with a normal qualifying, but then still I managed to score three points, which you wouldn't expect in Monaco, starting from last."
Q: And it was quite close with Michael on the finish line!
"He tried a move on me after the start/finish line, which wasn't necessary, but that's the way it is."
Q: Jarno started with the team at the end of 2004. He had better luck in qualifying early on, so was starting earlier a big advantage for him?
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"No, not really. Jarno in general is a good qualifier, it's always been his strength. In races I seem to have had a little bit of better hand, but that's the way it is. Sometimes it was a little bit difficult for me to figure out qualifying with the car, but other than that, I'm fairly happy."
Q: Was aero the major weaknesses in last year's package that had to be addressed?
"Aero is the main thing, but having said that if you look up and down the pitlane everybody is going to quote that. It's the same for us, it can never be good enough."
Q: And there were things in the car that didn't suit your style compared to Jarno?
"The way the car was designed is more to what he was used to before. The Williams which I was used to for six years is a bit different, that's all."
Q: You came from a team that had won World Championships. Are Toyota at the right level yet?
"Team-wise, experience-wise, and the way Toyota approaches things and works is already better than the team I was in before. It's just about getting the package together."
Against the spectations of many in the F1 paddock, Ralf and Toyota had a successful first year together, with two podiums (at Hungary and China) and a pole in Japan. (LAT Photo) » More Photos
Q: What about Mike Gascoyne?
"He is very good to work with. He knows what he wants, and he's a very good motivator to people. He's a very good technical director."
Q: Is it enjoyable being in a team where they have the resources to do anything you ask for?
"That's quite common among the leading teams. I don't think there's any difference between Ferrari, McLaren, ourselves, and Renault."
Q: Any thoughts on the move to V8s?
"It will be a lot slower, but that's not a problem. It's safer again, so that's a positive aspect to look at."
Q: Is it a chance for Toyota to make a step forward, because it's a fresh start for everybody?
"Having looked at this year, reliability doesn't look so bad, even on the V10 side. We started fairly early, we were one of the first ones to put it on the dyno, into the car, so it's going to be positive for us."
Q: What about the move to Bridgestone?
"Whatever tire you go with there will be tracks where one of them will be better, it's normal. I think what the FIA is looking at, basically getting one tire manufacturer, will be a good thing for everybody."
Q: What about 2005 as a whole, the battle between Renault and McLaren. What did you think about that?
"To begin with Renault was simply more consistent and as strong as McLaren, and then McLaren had the upper hand, but having too many technical problems. The McLaren was definitely the better car, but Fernando, with the team, did a good job."
Q: What qualities do you think Fernando has?
"I don't know, I've never worked with him, but it's obvious from the outside that he did a great job, keeping it together and making no big mistakes."
Q: Were you surprised to see Ferrari have a year like they did?
"I was very surprised, but if you look through the history of F1, it has happened to other teams as well."
Q: What about Williams? You made a decision to leave, and in retrospect it looks like it was the right one…
"You can never tell. They might have a good season next year – I wish them all the best…"
