The Toyota TF102 was the car with which the Toyota team competed in the

2002 Formula One season The 2002 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 56th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2002 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 2002 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested ...

, the team's inaugural Championship campaign. The car reflected the results of a year's testing in 2001 with the TF101, and was designed primarily by Dago Rohrer,

Gustav Brunner Gustav Brunner (born 12 September 1950) is an Austrian Formula One designer and engineer. Career Born in Graz, he started his career in racing car design at the German-based constructor McNamara (constructor), McNamara. He first entered F1 in a ...

and

René Hilhorst René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...

. The engine was designed by

Luca Marmorini Luca Marmorini (born 17 June 1961) is an Italian engineer, who is the former head of the engine and electronics department at the Ferrari Formula One team. Career Marmorini started his Formula One career with Ferrari in , which he joined after ...

. As with the TF101, it was piloted during the season by

Mika Salo Mika Juhani Salo (born 30 November 1966) is a Finnish former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . His best ranking was 10th in the world championship in 1999, when he stood in for the injured Michael Schumach ...

and

Allan McNish Allan McNish (born 29 December 1969) is a British former racing driver, commentator, and journalist from Scotland. He is a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, most recently in 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2013, as well as a three-time wi ...

Development

The car had a much more conventional look in the aerodynamic sense than the test car did, something that was commented on by Brunner at its launch in November 2001: "The car tested during 2001 showed the results we wanted. This new model reflects the latest technology, and has a much more conventional setup than the test car." The car sported a different paint livery than the one seen on the test car, with a more abstract red and white design taking over from the contoured lines of the previous model.

Performance

At the opening race of the 2002 season in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Salo came home sixth to give the team a point on its Formula One début. The Finn added a second point two races later, in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. McNish, meanwhile, was on course for a point of his own in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, but a pit-lane mistake by the team meant he finished seventh. During qualifying for the final race of the season, at Suzuka, he wrote off a chassis completely when he crashed at the super-quick 130R corner, also tearing a hole in the

Armco AK Steel Holdings Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in West Chester Township, Ohio. The company, whose name was derived from the initials of Armco, its predecessor company, and Kawasaki Steel Corporation, was acqui ...

barrier. However, he sustained no serious injury, which paid testament to the safety of the TF102. The two points put Toyota tenth in the Constructors' Championship, behind

Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following ...

on count-back ( Mark Webber had finished fifth in Australia) but ahead of the financially troubled Arrows. Team principal

Ove Andersson Ove Andersson (3 January 1938 – 11 June 2008), nicknamed ''Påven'' ("the Pope"), was a Swedish rally driver and the first head of Toyota's F1 programme. Early life Andersson was born in Uppsala and grew up on a remote farm. His father bou ...

had warned at the beginning of the season that it would be very much a "learning year" and overall the car's performance was received with optimism due to its sturdy reliability.

Complete Formula One results

(

key Key, Keys, The Key or The Keys may refer to: Common uses * Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message * Key (instrument), a component of a musical instrument * Key (lock), a device used to operate a lock * K ...

) (results in bold indicate pole position)

References

External links

TF102 Evolution at Toyota F1 official siteTF102 Facts at f1db.com
{{F1 cars 2002 Toyota Formula One cars 2002 Formula One season cars