Gascoyne: We need to deliver
As the 2004 Formula 1 season drew to a close following Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix, Toyota's technical director Mike Gascoyne said the team must start producing results next year after it finished in a dismal eighth position overall with just nine points
Toyota entered the F1 fray in 2002 and is reported to have the largest budget in the pitlane, but despite its coffers it has failed to produce the results it sought when it signed up to the championship.
Gascoyne joined Toyota from Renault at the end of last season, but his influence on this year's car was understandably limited giving his team switch, but the Briton is confident that the team will be in a position to make a step forward next year.
"It (Toyota) has to start delivering from the start of next year," he said. "There's absolutely no doubt about that. I'm very confident we're in a position to do that. You can't make the step to the top in one step. It's far too difficult to do that...but I'm very confident we will make a significant step forward."
The team has two new drivers for next year - Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli, who began his Toyota campaign in Japan after leaving Renault early. It is hoped the duo will provide stability after a difficult year that saw a driver change two thirds of the way through the season when Cristiano da Matta was replaced with test driver Ricardo Zonta.
"Obviously we've had a difficult and frustrating year," he said. "I joined last December and I think our level of performance didn't come as a great surprise to me. We knew what we had to do to improve the team and a lot of that has involved work back in Cologne in the factory, in the way that we work there, and that is inevitably going to take some time.
"It's been a season of change for us and with the drivers that's reflected that, but we have to make the decisions to make sure we get set up to be in the best position at the start of next year.
"Because one thing's for sure - if this season's been disappointing, next year can't be."
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