Montagny leaves, Glock arrives and Toyota shifts into 2nd gear

Franck Montagny donned his test driver suit for the last time this year in Barcelona last week. The Frenchman was warmly thanked for his technical contributions and good humor.

« Working with Franck was a very positive experience; he contributed a lot to the team » stated President John Howett.

« His work during the tests was exceptional and he greatly helped us understand the performance of our car. He is of an easy and enthusiastic character and very involved in his work. We appreciated having him as part of the team, we will miss him. »

A page also turns on the front of the main drivers. Timo Glock has been confirmed as the race driver. I am convinced that Timo has the potential to help the team move forward and achieve its goals, said Tadashi Yamashina, Toyota’s general manager.

« Timo [Glock] has extensive experience in motorsport and various categories and has strengthened his reputation by winning the highly competitive GP2 Series championship, which, as we have seen, is excellent preparation for F1. He has shown a fighting spirit and creativity in racing. We believe he is the right man for the job. »

Like his team, the 25-year-old driver is young in the discipline, but his competitive experience spans 10 years. After two years in karting (he started at 15), Glock made the leap to single-seaters and experienced a meteoric rise, from Formula BMW to ChampCar through the F3 Euro Series. At 22, he made his F1 debut with Jordan Grand Prix in Canada, and thanks to his 7th place finish, he joined the very exclusive group of drivers who scored points in their first Grand Prix appearance. Three races later, he moved to the USA and became the best rookie of the year in 2005 in Champ Car. But the allure of F1 was stronger, and Timo returned to Europe in 2006 to compete in the GP2 championship, which he has become the champion of this year.

According to a press release – Toyota F1