Dernie experience 'to benefit Toyota'

Veteran Formula One engineer Dernie, whose career spans three decades and includes work at teams like Lotus, Benetton, Arrows, Lola and Williams, has been appointed senior advisor for Toyota.

And although Dernie will not be based in the factory, Vasselon reckons his contribution will still be significant for the team.

"I wanted Frank to join the team because of his huge experience in Formula One, which should be a great benefit to us," said Vasselon.

"I have had the opportunity to collaborate with Frank a few years ago and I appreciated the depth of his knowledge and the relevance of his global approach to F1 performance.

"We have already spent hours discussing about how to make an F1 car faster. As a senior advisor, I can call on Frank to discuss design concepts and development in terms of aerodynamics and chassis-related projects.

"Even though he won't be based full time in the factory, modern communications mean we can easily connect and gather his input on the work we are doing.

"He will offer his advice to the senior technical managers of our chassis department on how to get the most performance out of the current car, as well as assisting as we develop concepts for the 2008 car."