Toyota officially enters F1, stops testing

The deadline for all applications to enter the championship was November 15, and Toyota must now adhere to a testing ban, which runs until January 1, 2002. A number of rival team bosses were upset that Toyota was allowed to test after the final race of this season, when the ban began.

In accordance with the rules, Toyota's formal application coincided with the end of the team's final test session of 2001 at Paul Ricard in the south of France. Both 2002 race team drivers Mika Salo and Allan McNish were in action during the two-week long session.

Since the launch of its test car in March, the Toyota team has carried out test sessions at 11 Grand Prix circuits in addition to numerous outings at its Paul Ricard testing base. In the last eight months, McNish and Salo have completed a combined total of over 3000 laps - the Scot has around 9,000 kilometres under his belt, whilst Salo has driven in excess of 6,000 kilometres.

Toyota will unveil its 2002 contender - its first ever F1 race car - in Cologne on December 17.