Keen to be the best, not just ahead of HondaToyota does not want to get into a one-on-one battle with Honda when their rivals take over BAR next year, according to the Japanese manufacturer's president John Howett. Honda announced ahead of this weekend's Japanese Grand
Prix they will complete a 100 percent buy-out of BAR by the start of next season but Toyota are refusing to hold their focus on their national rivals.
"I don't think we will be only looking at Honda," said Howett. "Everyone makes too much of this. Maybe in Japan there is big rivalry but we ultimately want to win races and become champions. To do that we have to look at Renault, we have to look at McLaren (Mercedes) and there are a couple of teams improving so we can't sleep. So we are not focused on Honda, we are focused on the guys that are going to be on the top and there are a few other teams that have not done so well this year that are extremely dangerous so we need to look at everyone."
The Suzuka race marked a significant moment in the increasing presence of Japanese teams on the Formula One grid when Toyota and BAR Honda filled the front row, the first two Japanese teams to do so.
Ralf Schumacher claimed Pole Position for Toyota, the second in their brief history since they joined in 2002, while
Jenson Button finished second in the Honda-powered BAR in the rain-affected qualifying. However, neither team shone in the race as Button dropped to fifth and Schumacher tumbled down to eighth.
Howett believes that Toyota's showing over the full season, which has seen them secure fourth place in the constructors' championship, has already been a significantly better achievement than originally expected.
"I think we were unlucky with the safety car in this race because we thought three stops was very quick and although I don't think we would have won the race, third or fourth was probably feasible with a bit of luck," he said. "But the main issue is that we have achieved the objectives this year and if you had asked me in January if I would settle for four podiums and fourth place in the championship, the answer would have been undoubtedly."
Toyota have taken a big step forward this season and are already well advanced in planning for next season having introduced a B-specification chassis which, they say, is designed with one eye on the future.
The TF105B, which Howett admitted has suffered some problems in its development stages, made its delayed race debut here in Japan and proved a successful upgrade for the drivers. Major changes to engine design, which will see the current V10 units scrapped in favour of V8s, will affect the cars significantly but Howett is confident the TF105B will provide a good platform from which to move forward next year.
"We have brought the 105B and we think this is the best fundamental direction for next year," said Howett. "We are racing it already and we are learning a lot from that but the biggest unknown is the engine change for next year. It is a major difference and we sincerely believe reliability will be a big concern during the early races of next year but right now we are looking to have a quicker, faster car next year."
E.A. Source AFP
