Last Summer the deal was made; Ralf Schumacher was leaving BMW-Williams to join Panasonic Toyota Racing. A team that had never finished on the podium, let alone taken a race victory. Rumours surrounding the deal said he was after a Michael Schumacher like environment, a team built around him with the utmost respect. Speculation also said Ralf aimed to be the ‘golden child’, the one who would take Toyota to the top, win their first race, take their first championship, be labelled a hero in Japan and lead the team which was his to a future of success. Sadly this season has been quiet the opposite. It’s been all Jarno Trulli, taking the lead over the winter after joining early last season, then getting the first podium, points and pole position. Whilst Ralf has crashed, spun, and has only just collected his first podium of the season, whilst his teammate Jarno has visited that spot three times already this season. So whats the real reason for Ralf Schumacher’s Toyota contact? It seems as though it wasn’t for a ‘Michael Schumacher, Ferrari style’ relationship. Well, the name saids it all!

After reading this months F1 Racing magazine I was left doubtful and surprised. Did Toyota just hire Ralf for the name? No, I’m talking about the ‘Schumacher’ part, the element that is connected to his 7-times World Champion brother Michael. The way Toyota could use Ralf as a marketing tool, just by popping in his surname on adverts and promotions, could double sales, because its connected to a well known and legendry brand “Schumacher”. This could be a reason why Ralf is on a 3-year contract, which is longer than Jarno, and is paid more than double in salary. But if Toyota are so keen on raising their name, why didn’t they spend the money on making a faster car? The answer is, they have enough money to make a faster car, they have hundreds of people at the factor, and they have the finances and facilities. It’s just Ralf would be much better than a glowing sponsor, as a sponsor is just a name across your side-pod, whilst a driver with a historic name as Ralf’s can do P.R work, advertisement, set-up a race car, start from pole position, win races and possibly even win a World Championship. That’s worth more than Panasonic or any form of tobacco sponsorship in the world!

To prove the theory correct, at Melbourne for the season opener, Toyota put up huge billboards said “Mr Schumacher – your car awaits.” And then the word “Toyota”. Associating themselves with such a name, which by rights they can put on their advertisements, gives them an additional boost when competing against the likes of Mercedes, BMW and Renault. It’s the same in Football with the ‘Beckham’ name, and huge companies prepared to pay millions just to have a well-known star featuring in their advertisements.

I do hope that Toyota didn’t just buy Ralf for the name, although his salary and their early promotions do make me think otherwise.

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