Toyota has not yet decided on its drivers

Toyota has informed its pair of drivers that their services will not be required for the following year and urged them to look for alternative options for 2010. A report in this week’s GPWEEK e-magazine claims that the pair was allegedly told during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend that Toyota might withdraw at the end of the season.

Jarno Trulli is already looking for another seat after talks between him and the team fell apart in August due to a disagreement over the length of the contract. As for Timo Glock, Toyota’s spokesperson made it clear that the German driver is not being dismissed. Timo Glock’s contract is set to expire at the end of the 2009 season, and Toyota has not yet exercised the option it holds on him for 2010.

« The door is not closed, » confirms the spokesperson in an attempt to convince his interlocutors that this does not foreshadow a withdrawal of Toyota. Timo Glock having been the protégé of the Japanese manufacturer for 2 years, it is, however, tempting to see in this refusal to exercise an option more than a vote of no confidence, a complete withdrawal from F1 of the world’s leading manufacturer.

For his part, Glock stated simply, “Now I have to look around me. I already have several possibilities and I am confident.”

Another possible option that does not include withdrawing from F1: a new duo of drivers, one of whom would be Kazuki Nakajima, who is the spearhead of Toyota’s Young Driver program and is leaving Williams. As for the other driver in the Toyota program, Kamui Kobayashi, his poor season in GP2 will probably not allow him to make the big jump to F1.