Technical analysis of the Toyota TF108

Looking back now, it appears that 2007 was a watershed year for the Japanese squad, and 2008 brings a revived team and an all-new car. This is significant, because since 2002 the Toyota cars have been clear evolutions of each other.

This year, the TF108 is a total departure in terms of aerodynamics and the aims set out for it.

Last year's TF107 car did not perform to the team's expectations, appearing outdated even at its launch. Although the car showed pace at times, the car was inconsistent. This year, the team have aimed to produce a less sensitive car, more able to be predictable at all points around the track.

To this end, the new car has a longer wheelbase and all new aerodynamics. With this comes a new gearbox and revised cooling package. Largely carried over from 2007 are the suspension philosophies and the engine itself.

Speaking to autosport.com, senior general manager chassis Pascal Vasselon explained the initial plans for the car.

"We decided quite early that we were going to go for a longer wheelbase," he said, adding that the wheelbase change is made up in several areas of the car and not a single change, such as a longer gearbox.

The team also aimed for a different approach to how the aerodynamics create their downforce. No longer seeking a maximum, but instead looking for a more stable and wider range of downforce around a lap.

With such a visual and conceptual change to the car, Vasselon explains that "the schedule has been pretty standard. We started to run the wind tunnel model in March, so in fact the concept change does not mean that you step back hugely."

Vasselon also added: "You want to make sure the aero balance downforce balance doesn't change too much."

The resulting car appears very different. The lower nose is the first clue to the changes, but behind the wing, the bargeboards and sidepod front are significantly changed.

In fact, the arrangement of the turning vanes is particularly McLaren-esque, with the front vanes moulded into the keel area and the rear boards much larger.

This is a major step away from the Toyota solution raced for several years and, ironically, appears in a year when McLaren themselves have dropped the idea.

Making a big impact was the large pod wing complete with the mirrors attached. Although a novelty, the bigger change is the way the sidepod undercuts. This was a feature missing from the 2007 car, and source of criticism from the media.

Although the sidepods carry over revised chimney and flip-up set-up from last year, the sidepods are a lot slimmer and house repositioned coolers.

Around the cockpit and engine cover, Toyota have adopted the new regulation side-padding and followed the favoured practice of slimming the engine cover and adopting fins to meet the dimensional regulations.

The suspension geometry has been carried over from last year, as Vasselon said the team were happy with its characteristics. The changes made aim mainly at suiting the aerodynamics and making the parts lighter.

At the rear of the car, the gearbox is new, retaining a titanium casing and seamless gear cluster. Attached to it, the engine has not been updated from last year due to the rules.

The largest job for engine manager Luca Marmorini and the engine team has been to integrate the Standard ECU. The Italian feels the team have still some development to do on this project, in particular on how the engine integrates with the seamless gearbox.

Marmorini said the engine has improved, and despite being unable to develop the engine itself, the team have stressed the engine to gain more potential from it, by using up some of the safety factors engineered into the engine at the time of the freeze. Whether this risks a compromise on reliability remains to be seen.