Jarno Trulli expressed suspicion that some teams may have found a way around the new standard ECU developed and supplied by McLaren Electronic Systems.

“I’m not going to name any names, but I think that some teams have already found a way to automate the starting procedure and reduce to the minimum the chance of spinning the wheels under acceleration. I’m not saying someone’s cheating, even though we’ve received some conflicting information at Toyota. But having analysed the behaviour on the track both now and in the tests in December, the changes between them are many - and in several cases suspicious.”

Autosport also reports some “Paddock sources” saying that some cars did sound different under heavy acceleration during last week tests in Jerez. Only Honda and BMW did not run in Jerez last week, so if what Trulli says is true, there are quite a few suspects. The teams would be stupid to use something outright illegal, but pushing the limits to the edge of legality is common in the competitive world of F1. Remember BAR and their fuel tank in 2005 (banned for 2 races), Renault and their mass dampers in 2006, Ferrari and their flexi floor in Melbourne 2007…

The implementation of the standard ECU, was one of the reasons why it was possible to ban the traction control. It has been banned before, but quickly everybody found a way around it somewhere deep inside the car electronics and FIA had no other way than to make the TC legal again. Standard ECU should have been (among other things) a solution to the problem policing the TC ban.

If some of the teams indeed found a way around the standard ECU after only few months of working with it, than the TC ban might be shortlived again. It would be interesting to see what action (if any) will FIA take. Trulli may be right or he may be wrong. But in any case I hope that FIA goes ahead and investigates Trulli’s suspicions now. If there are to be any rulings on legality of any cars, FIA better make them before the racing begins. It would be nice if the 2008 Formula 1 season can start without a controversy.

F1Wolf

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… it is the same boring red and white monster . The 2008 F1 car launch season continued with the Toyota launch in Cologne, Germany. The Panasonic Toyota Racing team hopes that the new TF108 will move them closer to its long-term aim of winning races and fighting for the World Championship. As with the Ferrari and McLaren the continuing aero development will mean that the car they will bring to Melbourne may have entirely different look. Here are some photos of the TF108:

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F1Wolf

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Ralf Schumacher is not a bad driver. But even the best ones should know when to go…

The departure of Ralf Schumacher from Toyota was long expected. He was reportedly within a race of being fired during the summer but he managed to hold on to his seat till the end of the season. The expected announcement came in Shanghai, between the Japanese and Chinese GPs. What was unexpected was Ralf’s decision to leave instead of Toyota’s decision to let him go. Well, there are only few who believe that is how it happened…

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F1Wolf

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During the past month I published series of posts with the high resolution photos of all the teams and all the drivers (well almost, one driver is missing) of 2007 Formula 1 season for download.

For those who missed it, here are all the links:

Kimi Raikkonen
Lewis Hamilton
Fernando Alonso
Felipe Massa
Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica
Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen
Nico Rosberg, Alex Wurz, Kazuki Nakajima
Mark Webber, David Coulthard
Jarno Trulli, Ralf Schumacher
Sebastian Vettel, Scott Speed, Vitantonio Liuzzi
Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello
Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson
Adrian Sutil, Christijan Albers, Sakon Yamamoto

Screensavers are also on the way. If you do not want to miss out, subscribe to F1 Wolf via RSS Feed or E-mail

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48 hours passed and Flavio still has no news to announce. According to Alonso’s manager Luis Garcia Abad, Alonso will take time before he makes up his time and “will decide when he knows the best option for his future”.

The rumours coming out of Renault suggest that the talks have stalled. While Briatore would be willing to accept 1 year contract with Alonso, Carlos Ghosn, the Renault CEO allegedly says firmly “It is 3 years of nothing.”

In the meantime the Toyota and Red Bull rumours are still alive and kicking and Alonso seems to be acting like he has lots of options to choose from.

The other piece of information that appeared is that Nico Rosberg still may find himself racing for McLaren next year. German press reports that Frank Williams would be willing to accept around US$22 million from McLaren for Rosberg’s release. At the same time, Willy Weber, Michael Schumacher’s manager, advises Rosberg not to do it. He warns “McLaren could very quickly destroy his career, Hamilton is their number one, even if officially they will not say it.”

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The 2007 GP2 champion Timo Glock has been confirmed as Toyota’s race driver for 2008 season. He has been connected with Toyota race seat for quite some time. The announcement has been expected after the Contract Recognition Board ruled that Glock was free to leave his previous test driver job at BMW Sauber.

Timo Glock

“It’s a great feeling to be a Formula One race driver again and I am really looking forward to this new challenge. I have worked hard over the past few years to get this opportunity and I must say I am grateful to Panasonic Toyota Racing for having faith in me. From what I have seen of the team at the track I am confident we will be able to work well together to move forward. Even though I have not raced in Formula One since 2004, I have tested quite regularly so I expect it will take very little time for me to get back in the groove.

Of course, to return to Formula One racing as GP2 Series champion is a real honour and we’ve all seen how well Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton have performed as champions so that is very encouraging. I hope I can also make a strong impression next season. Now I have achieved my goal of returning to Formula One, my next target is to work towards making 2008 a successful season for myself and Panasonic Toyota Racing.”

Tadashi Yamashina, Toyota team principal :

“It is with great pleasure that we confirm Timo Glock will race for Panasonic Toyota Racing in 2008. I am convinced Timo has the potential to help this team move forward and achieve its aims. Timo has great experience of motorsport in several different categories and he reinforced his reputation by winning the highly competitive GP2 Series, which we have already seen is fantastic preparation for Formula One. He has demonstrated a fighting spirit and good race craft in GP2 so we believe he is the right man for the job.”

Timo Glock raced in 4 races for Jordan back in 2004. Not sure if he is the best choice for Toyota, but he should not do worse than Ralf Schumacher did and he definitelly comes cheaper …

F1Wolf

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Toyota has confirmed Kamui Kobayashi as their test driver for 2008 season. The Formula 3 Euro series front-runner is right now in Macau racing in Macau GP Formula 3 race for ASM F3 team.

Another significant development is yesterday decision of the Contract Recognition Board. The CRB ruled that Timo Glock is free to race for Toyota next season. He is yet to be announced as Toyota driver for 2008, but one can expect this will happen soon. That would make Toyota fully set for the season and pretty much leave Fernando Alonso with Renault as his only option for next year. Especially after Christian Horner of Red Bull more less ruled out Red Bull as his destination:

“Our drivers are under contract for 2008 and Alonso will end up at Renault. We’re pleased to be linked with Alonso, it shows the progress we’ve made the past two years. But Renault is the only team other than Toyota which has a space and has not announced drivers for next season.”

After the Glock ruling and Kobayashi announcement, there does not seem to be the space in Toyota any more.

But Glock’s departure from BMW Sauber testing role means there is an opening there. Not for a race seat, but there are several candidates for the test driver role with BMW Sauber. Marko Asmer, Adam Carroll, Christian Vietoris and Nico Hulkenberg have been connected with the role. Asmer and Hulkenberg are also competting at the Macau Grand Prix this weekend.

F1Wolf

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Toyota

The fact that these 2 teams are neighbors in the constructors table with only 5 points separating them is not exactly a sign of money well spent in Toyota… Toyota scored points in only 7 out of 17 races in 2007 and their greatest point tally from a race was 3. They had 5 races pointless streak from Turkey to China.

Their start to the season was not that bad. Both their cars qualified in top 10 and scored their first point right away with Ralf at 8th, just ahead of Trulli. Jarno Trulli went 1 place better in the next 2 races. After three races Toyota were 5th in the constructors table with 5 points, but the performance slump of Ralf Schumacher was well under way already. It became even more apparent in Spain where Trulli qualified at 6th while Ralf Schumacher at 17. Both cars retired from the race.
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F1Wolf

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Part 9 of 2007 Formula 1 high resolution downloads - Toyota and their drivers Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher. All the photos are free but for personal use only. Right click on the links below and save. Enjoy ! We will not see Ralf Schumacher in Toyota F1 car next season and it is possible we may not see him again in F1 at all…

R Schumacher 1

R Schumacher 2

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Or did Toyota drop him ?

Who knows, the fact is, the speculations are over and there is now officially empty race seat in Toyota for the next season. There are several candidates. Timo Glock, the fresh GP2 champion may be one of the hottest.

Ralf made the announcement today in Shanghai and also published it on his website:

“Having been a Toyota driver in the past three years, I opted for looking for a new challenge. I joined Toyota with high expectations. On the one hand, I regarded it as a major and exciting challenge to be involved in the development of a new racing car. On the other hand, I also learned to like the Japanese style of living, during my long stay in Japan before entering Formula 1. And I still get on well with the Japanese mentality. But I am waiting for years for a competitive car.

Toyota also was a nice and interesting experience - particularly the cooperation with the team, engineers and mechanics. Still, it’s time now to look for a new challenge.
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F1Wolf

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