Panasonic Toyota Racing unveiled its new TF107 challenger in Cologne on Friday 12 January, prior to embarking on an intensive test programme in preparation for the first Grand Prix of the season in Australia on 18 March.
Toyota is the only one of the 11 F1 teams to go into the new season with the same engine, the same tyre partner, and the same two race drivers. That unique degree of continuity will enable the team to hit the ground running and build on the experience gained over recent seasons.
“We have addressed reliability this year,” Howett confirms. “And we have resolved issues like the launch system, which we fixed at the end of last season, and which cost us dearly. We’re improving the car, flat out, all the time. So I think we have the potential to win this year, and I’m disappointed that we didn’t deliver it in 2006.”
While there is continuity in other areas, the TF107 is a completely new car, with virtually no parts carried over from the TF106 and TF106B that preceded it.
“It’s pretty extensively changed in terms of basic lay-out,” says Howett. “When we went from the V10 to V8 the back of the engine effectively stayed in the same place, and the chassis and fuel tank filled the space where the front two cylinders of the V10 were. Now we’ve moved to engine forward, and yet worked really hard to still have a big tank. The gearbox is longer, and we will run a seamless shift for the first time.
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