The Toyota F110: The 2010 Toyota F1 car remains one of the biggest what-ifs in Formula 1
Toyota pulled out of F1, abandoning its highly-anticipated 2010 car.
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The Toyota TF110
Toyota‘s F1 journey is one of the most expensive disasters in motorsport history. The Toyota F1 team made its debut at the pinnacle of motorsport in 2002 and left in haste at the end of 2009. Over the several years in the championship, Toyota failed to win a single Grand Prix, despite the high ambitions of the Japanese automaker. However, things could have been different if a certain car got a chance to compete in Formula 1.
The Toyota TF110 was the car designed for the 2010 Formula 1 season. The car was built upon the previous year’s TF109 which was one of the early adopters of the double diffuser. Toyota started its 2009 season decently, however, the Japanese giant failed to stay in the fight by the latter half of the year. Hence, high expectations were laid on the TF110 with many considering it to be the Toyota winning machine.
The Toyota TF110 was designed by Pascal Vasselon, the Toyota Senior General Manager Chassis at that time. The car was rumored to feature a ‘rear-F-duct’ as part of one of the most extreme rear diffusers of its time. Certainly, a strong rear diffuser design would have allowed the Toyota F1 team to push its rivals to the limit. Arguably, this would have made the automaker a formidable competitor to Adrian Newey‘s RB6.
Toyota’s efforts did not see results as it left F1 before 2010
The Toyota F1 team pulled out of the sport at the end of 2009 after the global financial crisis. Parent automaker, Toyota incurred great losses and could not justify the exuberant costs of Formula 1. Hence, the team didn’t a chance to race the F110 in a Grand Prix head-to-head with the 2010 world champion, Sebastian Vettel. Subsequently, Toyota left F1 without any major accomplishments even after spending millions of dollars every year.
However, things could have been way different if the Toyota F1 team had the opportunity to continue in 2010. Toyota’s staff was confident about the car’s chances of winning the world title. So much so, that after the team’s exit, many other teams tried to get their hands on the F110. Stephan GP, a prospect to enter F1 in 2010 and the Hispania Racing team were two main contenders for this purchase. Unfortunately, neither of these deals went through and the F110 never saw the light of day.
Consequently, the Toyota TF110 is a sign of what could have been possible. Only if an automaker raced in F1 for just another year. Perhaps the team could have succeeded to great heights. This, in turn, would have justified the F1 program. Although, fans can only speculate on the possibilities while the TF110 remains a remnant of history.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2341 Articles Published)