Toyota Must Deliver Next Year, Says Gascoyne

Toyota say they cannot afford to have another frustrating season among the Formula One tail-enders.

"It (the team) has to start delivering from the start of next year," said technical director Mike Gascoyne at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix.

"There's absolutely no doubt about that.

"I'm very confident we're in a position to do that," he added. "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."

Toyota entered Formula One in 2002 and have one of the biggest budgets of any team. But their war chest has so far produced only a handful of points.

They finished this season in eighth place with nine points, the same position as 2003 when they scored 16, after coming 10th in 2002 with just two.

Next year they will start with an all-new line-up compared to the drivers who competed in Melbourne this year. Italian Jarno Trulli has joined from Renault while Ralf Schumacher leaves Williams.

Brazilian Cristiano da Matta was replaced at the end of July by test driver and compatriot Ricardo Zonta while Olivier Panis, whose fifth place at Indianapolis in June was their best of the year, stood down after Japan this month. Trulli did the last two races, without scoring.

"Obviously we've had a difficult and frustrating year," said Gascoyne. "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," he added.

"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."