Perfect reliability for Toyota in 2009

Toyota’s team principal, Tadashi Yamashina, states that his team’s objective for 2009 is perfect reliability of its cars despite the new regulations expected at the start of the season.

Toyota can rely on a very good 2008 season where it finished in fifth place in the World Constructors’ Championship. This year also saw its return to the podiums for the first time since early 2006.

However, Yamashina is aware that the team missed opportunities to do better due to reliability issues. This is a point the Japanese wants to address in 2009.

He also insisted that Toyota should not focus on its positive results in 2008, but rather concentrate on the future.

« We must not look only at the positive aspects of the season, » said Yamashina Toyota in his annual report.

« Toyota’s goal in Formula 1 is to win a race, and we did not achieve that goal in 2008. We had disappointing results when we expected more, for example at the Fuji Speedway. »

« Our reliability in general and compared to other teams has been good, but we have lost points several times due to reliability issues. We need to eliminate all these problems because points lost in the championships are costly. »

« Our drivers can rest assured because we are aiming for 100% reliability, and even though we know this is a very ambitious goal, we are working tirelessly to achieve it, » he continued.

Yamashina acknowledged that he was proud of the team’s performances this season after a challenging year in 2007.

« I am very proud of the progress the team made in 2008. We achieved one of our goals, which was to get back on the podium. We showed great potential in several races. »

However, there is still much work to be done and we must continue to make progress in order to achieve our goals: Winning races and fighting for the world championship.