Toyota TF108
From Toyota Wiki
| Auto racing | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Toyota F1 | ||||||||
| Automotive design |  Pascal Vasselon(Senior General Manager Chassis)  Noritoshi Arai(Director Technical Coordination)  Luca Marmorini(Senior General Manager Engine) | ||||||||
| Technical Specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Moulded carbon fibre and honeycomb construction Monocoque | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Carbon fibre double wishbone arrangement, with carbon fibre trackrod and pushrod | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Carbon fibre double wishbone arrangement, with carbon fibre trackrod and pushrod | ||||||||
| Internal combustion engine | Toyota RVX-08 2398cc 19,000 RPM Limited | ||||||||
| Transmission (mechanics) | Toyota/WilliamsF1/Xtrac collaboration 7-speed unit plus reverse | ||||||||
| Fuel | Esso Esso Lubricants | ||||||||
| Tire | Bridgestone Potenza BBS forged magnesium | ||||||||
| Competition History | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | Panasonic Toyota Racing | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | 11. Jarno Trulli 12.  Timo Glock
| ||||||||
| Debut | 2008 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||
| |||||||||
The Toyota TF108 is the Formula One car with which Toyota competes in the 2008 Formula One season.
Contents |
Launch
The 2008 season will also see Jarno Trulli retained for the 2008 season, Trulli will be joined by newcomer, but not rookie, Timo Glock as the teams second driver. The Toyota test and reserve driver for the 2008 season will be 21-year-old Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi.[2]
The Toyota team let driver Ralf Schumacher go at the end of the 2007 Formula One season, Schumacher has since signed a contract with Mercedes-Benz in motorsport for racing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for their 2008 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season.[3]
Technical developments
New concept design
With a new longer wheelbase to aid stability and a totally new aero package that is hoped will give the car great potential. The car is not a evolution of the previous years Toyota TF107 it has been designed from an evolution of the Toyota TF106 but with a promise of "The primary aerodynamic design philosophy for the TF108 is geared towards optimising the entire package" Pascal Vasselon the teams Chassis General Manager said.[4]
Rule changes
The car also has the new for 2008 higher headrests around the drivers head and also has the new standard McLaren Electronic Systems ECU that prevents the car having driver aids.
Changes in aerodynamics
Toyota have adopted a McLaren MP4-22-like bridge on the front wing,[5] and have also moved the rear view mirrors outboard, like Ferrari and Renault.[6] The TF108 has also had a major focus on cleaning the air flow around the front suspension, maximising the zero keel concept of the front suspension.[7]
Alternative liveries
- At the 2008 French Grand Prix the car ran with a black stripe along the nosecone, to commemorate the life of former Toyota F1 boss, Ove Andersson, who had died earlier that month.
- At the 2008 British Grand Prix, the car ran with a special Batman livery. The team signed a deal with Warner Brothers to promote the new film, The Dark Knight (film), which was released on July 25.[8]
2008 season
2008 testing
Timo Glock was fastest[9] in testing at Jerez on the 17th of January, whilst test driver Kamui Kobayashi was 7th fastest on the same day.
Toyota and Ferrari have been the only teams in 2008 to test outside the common test tracks in Spain (Circuit de Valencia, Circuito Permanente de Jerez and the Circuit de Catalunya), having chosen to test in sunnier conditions in Bahrain from the 4th to the 6th February and 9th until the 11th of February 2008.[10]
Later in the month of February, Toyota, alongside Ferrari, returned to the Circuit de Catalunya to finish off their preparations for the season opener in 2008 Australian Grand Prix. Toyota rolled out a new aero package,[11] with Pascal Vasselon saying that "The new aerodynamics package we brought here is a clear step forward". The very next day, Jarno Trulli completed the day with a time of 1.20.801, fastest overall, Red Bull Racing-Renault F1 driver David Coulthard was second with a time of 01:21.258 on the same day.[12]
Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)
| Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 Formula One season | Toyota F1 | Toyota V8 engine | Bridgestone | 2008 Australian Grand Prix | 2008 Malaysian Grand Prix | 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix | 2008 Spanish Grand Prix | 2008 Turkish Grand Prix | 2008 Monaco Grand Prix | 2008 Canadian Grand Prix | 2008 French Grand Prix | 2008 British Grand Prix | 2008 German Grand Prix | 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix | 2008 European Grand Prix | 2008 Belgian Grand Prix | 2008 Italian Grand Prix | 2008 Singapore Grand Prix | 2008 Japanese Grand Prix | 2008 Chinese Grand Prix | 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix | 56 | 5th | |
| Jarno Trulli | Ret | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 13 | Ret | 5 | Ret | 8 | ||||||
| Timo Glock | Ret | Ret | 9 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 12 | Ret | 2 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 4 | Ret | 7 | 6 |
External links
References
- ↑ "Toyota reveals TF108 in Cologne". f1.gpupdate.net. http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2008/01/10/toyota-reveals-tf108-in-cologne/.
- ↑ "Kobayashi expects to learn a lot". f1.gpupdate.net. http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2008/01/11/kobayashi-expects-to-learn-a-lot/.
- ↑ "Ralf Schumacher joins DTM series in 2008". f1.gpupdate.net. http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2008/02/18/ralf-schumacher-joins-dtm-series-in-2008/.
- ↑ "Longer wheelbase, new aero concept for latest Toyota". Formula1.com. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/1/7246.html.
- ↑ "A brand new bridge wing for Toyota". f1technical.net. http://www.f1technical.net/development/119.
- ↑ "TF108 follows trend to move mirrors outboard". f1technical.net. http://www.f1technical.net/development/118.
- ↑ "Toyota focus on aerodynamics in suspension". f1technical.net. http://www.f1technical.net/development/117.
- ↑ "Toyota brings Batman to Silversone". ITV-F1. 01/07/2008. http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=43173.
- ↑ "Jerez day three - Glock masters the TF108". Formula1.com. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/1/7268.html.
- ↑ "Only Ferrari and Toyota will travel to Bahrain". f1.gpupdate.net. http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2008/01/22/only-ferrari-and-toyota-will-travel-to-bahrain/.
- ↑ "Toyota happy with new aero package". f1.gpupdate.net. http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2008/02/26/toyota-happy-with-new-aero-package/.
- ↑ "Trulli fastest on final day of pre-season testing". f1technical.net. http://www.f1technical.net/news/8351.
| |||||
| |||||
