Toyota Not Going After Gascoyne

Toyota president Ove Andersson said today that Toyota have not had formal discussions with Renault about signing their superstar designer Mike Gascoyne - and insisted they are not currently planning to buy him out of his contract.

Gascoyne has been linked to a multi-million dollar move from Renault ever since Andersson admitted at this year's Monaco Grand Prix that Toyota needs a technical director to mastermind their move up the Grand Prix grid.

Gascoyne refused to confirm or deny speculation over his Renault future in an official FIA press conference at Silverstone on Friday but Andersson has now refuted suggestions that they have made an approach.

"Standing here right now, we are not considering Mike Gascoyne," Andersson said in the Silverstone paddock on Saturday. "If he was available we would but he has about two years to go on his contract with Renault."

Toyota are no strangers to poaching top designers and most famously snatched chief designer Gustav Brunner from current paddock neighbours Minardi before they arrived in Formula One. But Andersson insisted that was a different situation entirely and explained: "In that case there was something to do with Italian law that allowed him to move. This situation is not the same."

Andersson refused to rule out future plans to sign Gascoyne but insisted that they are looking for a new man to come in "sooner rather than later" in order to continue their rise up the grid.

He admitted there are "few people available" that could fill the job and, despite his protestations about buying out the contract, the big-budget Japanese team has enough money to do so if they cannot find another alternative.