Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to join Formula One in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002. The new team grew from Toyota's long-standing Toyota Motorsport GmbH organisation, which had previously competed in the World Rally Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Despite a point in their first-ever race, Toyota never won a Grand Prix, their best finish being second, which they achieved five times.
The Toyota GT-One entered the 1998 and 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans with ex-Formula One drivers Martin Brundle, Thierry Boutsen and Ukyo Katayama. The car itself was competitive in terms of speed; however, reliability problems denied the team a win on both occasions.
The first Formula One test car of Toyota, the TF101 (2001)
Allan McNish at the 2002 French Grand Prix. The Scot qualified in seventeenth place, but retired from the race with an engine problem although he did complete enough laps to be classified eleventh.
Olivier Panis driving the Toyota TF104 at the 2004 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis. He finished the race in 5th.
Formula One, commonly known as Formula 1 or F1, is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one of the world's premier forms of racing since its inaugural running in 1950. The word formula in the name refers to the set of rules all participants' cars must follow. A Formula One season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix. Grands Prix take place in multiple countries and continents on either purpose-built circuits or closed public roads.
Juan Manuel Fangio's 1951 title-winning Alfa Romeo 159
Stirling Moss's Lotus 18 at the Nürburgring during 1961
Stefan Johansson driving for Ferrari at the 1985 European Grand Prix
Damon Hill driving for Williams at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix
