JUNE 3, 2004

Toyota look to TF104B for success

Toyota is busy preparing the TF104B, an upgraded chassis which will be introduced in the summer. The new chassis will be lower and will boast a lower centre of gravity and this will means that the car will need to go through a new series of crash tests. The new chassis will feature different aerodynamics and the team's technical director, who arrived too late to have any major effect on the TF104 itself, reckons that the car will be quicker as a result.

There has never been any question about the performance of the Toyota V10 engine, which remains one of the best out there, but the chassis and specifically the aerodynamics have been a problem. Gascoyne has already restructured the aerodynamic department, bringing in new engineers and moving the old team aside. The major thrust of the work of this new team will be future cars but considerable effort is going into the current car in order to improve the team's performance. This is increasingly important for Toyota as Honda's performance in F1 improves.