Grapevine: Andersson Replaced Due to Age Policy Only

The decision to replace Ove Andersson as team boss of Toyota F1 was made over a year ago, Atlas F1 has learned.

Toyota has a retirement policy stipulating employees must retire from any executive position at the age of 65. Andersson, who turned 65 one year ago, was given additional time to allow the Japanese automaker to find a suitable replacement as well as offer him extra time to stabilise the young team.

Toyota's original plans were to enter Formula One in 2001, effectively giving Andersson two years as team principal before he reaches retirement age. But the automaker decided to postpone its entry to 2002.

Sources in Toyota told Atlas F1 that Andersson's replacement, Tsutomu Tomita, moved to the Cologne-based factory in July 2003 with the intent of overlapping Andersson before subsequently replacing him. Moreover, employees at Toyota F1 already knew by the Japanese Grand Prix that Andersson will be replaced.

The sources further insisted that Andersson's stepping down was done in full agreement and collaboration with the Swede himself and was only a result of Toyota's global retirement policy.

The sources dismissed speculations that the change is in any way related to police investigation last month into allegations of industrial espionage against Ferrari which, the sources said, has in any way amounted to no legal charges.

Recent speculations that Gerhard Berger was offered the job of Andersson were further dismissed as "total bullshit", the sources saying Tomita was Toyota's choice to begin with.