Is it an F1 car or the new Boeing 777?

It was surprising that around the same time Toyota unveiled their ‘Melbourne’ racer, the Toyota TF105, with wings coming out from all over the place as if it was growing facial hair, is this a Boeing TF105 aircraft or Formula One racer? Well, I can rest assure that Toyota are sticking to cars for now, and Boeing are not running a Formula One team, but with the way designers are going I expect in a few years time some people will get confused!

So, onto the new Toyota, and my, have they been busy! It was only 2 months ago that they launched the Toyota TF105, and on that day I commented on it being ‘normal’ with no radical wings or weight saving side-pods. Now someone has stepped in the center of the front wing and put some bookshelves in front of the side-pods. Oh, and they grabbed some red paint by putting a ‘whoosh’ line above the drivers head – nice! But do all these home improvements, the ‘Do it yourself’ job, really make a difference… or if it were Boeing, claim back their number one status? Well, Toyota are not Ferrari beaters yet, so this isn’t the golden car. But, having heard the feedback from Jarno Trulli, a man who knows what an under steering, bad car feels like, it seems pretty positive. The idea that the car will give the driver more confidence to take a corner a bit faster, brake a bit later, all adds up in a lap and with one lap qualifying still around its important that both Ralf and Jarno can predict whats going to happen on the limit which I think this car is going to do. The question is will it be kinder to its tyres, put less pressure on those four important round things, well, I think a real race situation will tell us that answer. It’s a step forward, no questions asked, something a team with a $200 million budget can afford, and having launched a second car in the space of 2 months shows how serious they are about becoming a front running team. It shows the feedback from the drivers is really making a difference, and the team are watching the others up and down the pit lane. I just wonder if Toyota and Jordan are walking behind the bike sheds at 1 o’clock in the morning, and looking at pictures of their 2005 racers and sharing information – like the side pod bookshelves?

So has Toyota launched their version of the new Boeing 777? Well, it’s never going to fly unless you turn the wings upside down (and there are a lot!) but both share the same reliable, long distance approach, which with the new rules in place could provide them with a good opportunity.

To sum it up, Toyota’s Melbourne spec racer isn’t as ‘plane’ simple as it was a few months ago.

Nicholas Sparkes

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