Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to join Formula One in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002."Toyota set for F1 debut" BBC Sport Retrieved 5 July 2007 The new team grew from Toyota's long-standing Toyota Motorsport GmbH organisation, which had previously competed in the World Rally Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Despite scoring a point in their first-ever race,"Beginners luck say Toyota" Motorsport.com Retrieved 10 July 2007 Toyota never won a Grand Prix, their best finish being second, which they achieved five times."Toyota's History In F1" F1network.net Retrieved 5 July 2007"Toyota F1 2005 Results Summary" Formula1.com Retrieved 5 July 2007"F1 Team Championship 2005" Formula1.com Retrieved 5 July 2007 On 4 November 2009, Toyota announced its immediate withdrawal from Formula One, ending the team's involvement in the sport after eight consecutive seasons.
Unlike its compatriot rival manufacturer Honda that had more success in the sport, Toyota drew criticism for their lack of success as they never managed to win a Grand Prix with one of the sport's biggest budgets along with being the world's largest car manufacturer."Toyota – Pressure mounting" BBC Sport Retrieved 15 July 2007 Toyota was a well-funded team, but despite this, strong results had never been consistent."Team history – Toyota Racing" ITV Sport Retrieved 5 July 2007
In October 2024, the Toyota name returned to Formula One with the company signing a technical partnership with Haas F1 Team through Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR). In December 2025, this partnership was expanded to a title partnership with Haas being rebranded as TGR Haas F1 Team.
Racing history
1957–2002: origins
Toyota made an early entrance into motorsport when a Toyopet Crown entered the Round Australia Trial in 1957.www.time.com Retrieved 8 March 2007 The Formula One team's roots can be traced to a later development in 1972, when Swede Ove Andersson's Andersson Motorsport team used a Toyota Celica 1600GT in the RAC Rally in Great Britain. The team was later renamed Toyota Team Europe and then, after being bought by Toyota in 1993, Toyota Motorsport GmbH. The rally team won four World Rally Championship drivers' titles, most notably with Carlos Sainz, as well as three constructors' titles.World Rally Championship for drivers www.rallybase.nl Retrieved 1 February 2007 The FIA banned the team from competition for 12 months at the end of 1995 for running illegal parts, causing the team unable to race at next season (Toyota's official regional teams entered the Celica GT-Four the next season, but the suspension meant they were ineligible for manufacturer's points). Toyota continued to win rallies after their return in 1997, but did not achieve the same level of dominance.Toyota Motorsport www.grandprix.com Retrieved 1 February 2007.
In 1997 the team moved into track racing with a sports car project, twice failing to win the Le Mans 24 Hours. On 21 January 1999 Toyota announced its move into Formula One. The company ended its rallying and Le Mans programs in order to concentrate on Formula One. On 30 June 2000 the team secured its place as the 12th entry for the Formula One season. Originally intending to enter F1 in 2001, Toyota forfeited an $11 million deposit by delaying their entry.Toyota set for F1 debut news.bbc.co.uk Retrieved 1 February 2007 Unusually, Toyota opted to start their own works team rather than partner with a specialist race team and chassis manufacturer.Mark Hughes The Unofficial Complete Encyclopedia Of Formula One Page 131, Line 3–6 Hermes House The team was also set up away from Formula One's traditional manufacturing centre in "Motorsport Valley" in the United Kingdom. During 2001, Toyota tested with their prototype TF101 (AM01) car and drivers at 11 F1 circuits. The idea was to gain telemetry data for the races, which allowed them to make aerodynamic changes for the TF102, and for the drivers to experience the tracks in the new cars. Finn Mika Salo, who can communicate in Japanese, and Scotsman Allan McNish, who drove the GT-One during the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, were appointed as test drivers.
2002–2004: early years
2002
Toyota F1 team, holding a Japanese racing licence, made their Formula One debut in , with McNish and Salo driving the Toyota TF102, designed by Gustav Brunner. Despite reportedly having one of the biggest budgets in Formula One,"Toyota predict massive progress" BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 October 2006 Toyota scored only two points all year. Their first point was scored in their first race, the Australian Grand Prix, when half the field was eliminated by a first corner accident caused by Ralf Schumacher colliding with Rubens Barrichello."2002 Australian GP Results" Formula1.com Retrieved 4 July 2007 The team could have scored another point in the next race at the Malaysian Grand Prix, but Salo suffered an electrical misfire and the team fumbled McNish's pit stop. The Scot thus lost ground, and finished seventh, just out of the points, behind Sauber's Felipe Massa.Alan Henry ed. (2002) 'Malaysian GP' Autocourse 2002–2003 p.105 Hazleton Publishing The Brazilian Grand Prix, third race of the season, yielded Toyota's second and final point, once again scored by Salo. McNish endured a huge crash during practice for the end-of-season Japanese Grand Prix and missed the race on medical advice."Huge crash for McNish in Japanese GP qualifying" Motorsport.com Retrieved 11 July 2007Alan Henry ed. (2002) 'Japanese GP' Autocourse 2002–2003 p.233 Hazleton Publishing Neither McNish nor Salo were offered a race seat for 2003.Alan Henry ed. (2002) 'Panasonic Toyota Racing' Autocourse 2002–2003 pp.82–84 Hazleton Publishing
2003 For the season, Toyota signed Brazilian Cristiano da Matta, who had won the American ChampCar series the previous year using a Toyota powered car, and former BAR driver Olivier Panis to take over the racing duties from Salo and McNish."Toyota close on Da Matta" BBC Sport Retrieved 17 June 2007 A wider points system were just what Toyota needed to score points in 2003. The team managed several points finishes during the season, but only as high as fifth place in Germany."The road to F1" Toyota F1.com Retrieved 4 July 2007
High points of the season included Toyotas running first and second in the British Grand Prix, thanks to making their pit stops whilst the safety car was out,"British GP 2003:Toyota race notes" Motorsport.com Retrieved 11 July 2007 and Panis qualifying third at the US Grand Prix."US GP Qualifying:Toyota race notes" Motorsport.com Retrieved 11 July 2007 At the end of the season, the team had accumulated sixteen points, an improvement on the previous season, but still only 8th in the constructors' championship, ahead of the struggling Jordan Grand Prix team and Minardi.Alan Henry ed. (2003) 'Panasonic Toyota Racing' Autocourse 2003–2004 pp.82–83 Hazleton Publishing
2004
Toyota retained their driver line-up for , but the season proved difficult. Both Toyotas (together with Williams cars) were disqualified from the Canadian Grand Prix for running illegal parts. Cristiano da Matta, following disappointing performances, left the team after the German Grand Prix and was replaced by fellow Brazilian Ricardo Zonta, who had been the team's third driver. Zonta drove for Toyota for the subsequent four rounds, before being replaced by Italian Jarno Trulli, who had left the Renault works team. Panis, meanwhile, announced his retirement from racing, and bowed out before the final race of the season in Brazil to allow Zonta, who had stepped aside for Trulli, to compete in his home race.Olivier Panis www.sportnetwork.net Retrieved 2 February 2007. Neither Trulli nor Zonta scored points for the team in those late season races, although Trulli qualified well in both Grands Prix he took part in. Toyota brought in ex-Jordan and Renault designer Mike Gascoyne early in the year to oversee the development of the car, which improved during the year. The team scored just over half the points they scored in 2003, but equalled their best finish of fifth at the United States Grand Prix with Panis and maintained their 8th place in the constructors' championship.Alan Henry ed. (2004) 'Panasonic Toyota Racing' Autocourse 2004–2005 pp.66–67 Hazleton Publishing
Industrial espionage 2004 also saw Toyota being accused of industrial espionage in the case of stolen data files from Ferrari. This following a season where many Formula One fans commented on similarities of the Toyota TF104 to the Ferrari F2003-GA. The district attorney of Cologne, where Toyota F1 is based, led the investigation saying "It's an immense amount of material. We'd need over 10 thousand pages to print everything," in relation to the number of documents generated in the design of any modern F1 car. Toyota refused to send the data back to Italy because they did not want Ferrari to take advantage of their own data, which had been mixed in with Ferrari's.""Toyota Used Stolen Ferrari Data," Says Attorney" Speed Channel. Retrieved 3 December 2004"Ex-Toyota men face spying charges" BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 January 2006
2005–2006: Rise, success, decline and customer engine partnership expansion
2005 saw an improvement in Toyota's fortunes. The team retained Trulli for the season but replaced Zonta with race-winner Ralf Schumacher from Williams. During the team's launch for their 2005 car, the TF105, Schumacher said that he had a better chance of winning the title at Toyota than he ever did at Williams."Ralf in dig at old team Williams" BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 November 2006"Ralf ready to move on" Motorsport.com Retrieved 15 July 2007 The team also supplied leased customer engines to the Jordan team. Toyota made a good start to the season, with Jarno Trulli qualifying second at the opening round in Australia and finishing second at the following two races in Malaysia and Bahrain. Results petered away slightly from this point, with Trulli scoring his only other podium with 3rd place at Spain and Ralf Schumacher rewarding the squad with 3rd place at both Hungary and China and a pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix. Nevertheless, the 2005 season was Toyota's most successful Formula One season by far, as they scored points in all but the opening race and the controversial United States Grand Prix, where Trulli qualified in pole position, but like all the drivers using Michelin tyres, retired before the start of the race.
2006 Toyota retained the same driver line-up for , although it switched to Bridgestone tyres. The team was the first to unveil their new car, a move intended to give them an advantage over their rivals, but the car's performance in testing was average. Ralf Schumacher's third place in Australia was Toyota's only podium finish during 2006. Their highest race finishes thereafter were 4th at France with Schumacher and also at the Brickyard, where Trulli started from the back and fought his way through to beat champion Fernando Alonso's Renault. Trulli came close to another podium in Monaco, but his engine failed during the late stages of the race. Ralf finished 6th at the Hungarian GP, as the only other significant result for the team. Jarno Trulli suffered a slight problem, and was off the pace during the team's home race (the Japanese Grand Prix) which delayed team-mate Ralf Schumacher on course for a strong result. In the final race – the Brazilian Grand Prix – both of Toyota's cars retired in the early laps with suspension failures. Despite these setbacks, the team enjoyed the second-best season performance in their history, scoring 35 points and finishing in sixth place, one point behind BMW Sauber.