Toyota put Vasselon as head of chassis

Autosport.com revealed last month that Vasselon is the leading candidate to take over Gascoyne, who was curtly dismissed by the Cologne-based team after the Australian Grand Prix.

Vasselon, who headed Michelin's F1 operation before joining Toyota, will take over Gascoyne's responsibilities in chassis design, aerodynamics, race and test engineering and team management. But unlike Gascoyne, the Frenchman will share his role with the senior management.

Toyota motorsport president John Howett explained that teamwork was the key to success and the ultimate aim of winning the championship.

"We feel this can only be accomplished by focusing less on the position of technical director, therefore we have decided to erase this position from our structure," he said.

"We are confident these changes will significantly help our long-term internal stability and ultimately our on-track performance."

Toyota have had a disappointing start to the 2006 championship after their best season in Formula One last year when they finished fourth overall and took their first pole position, podium finish and fastest lap.

Italian Jarno Trulli has so far failed to score a point in five races while Ralf Schumacher finished third in Australia and eighth in Malaysia.