The Message Toyota is Sending through the F1 Program
• So after the Le Mans endurance race, now Toyota is adding the F1 series—a race limited to a distance of 300km—to its extensive motorsports pedigree.
“Right. In fact, the first F1 test car was designed by the same person who did the car for Le Mans. At the time we started our Le Mans project, though, we still didn’t have any concrete plans to get into F1.”

• So, in other words, Toyota’s participation in F1 was a natural progression in the course of their motorsports program?
“Actually, the engineers had always been pushing for Toyota to get into F1 racing. But the company wasn’t going to go in blindly without any base of experience or know-how. Toyota management felt that if Toyota was to eventually get into the F1 series, then we first needed an in-house foundation of related experience.”

The TS020 and TF101, side by side during test driving. This is another historic moment among Toyota's long history of success in motorsports.

• So looking back, it would seem that Toyota’s success at Le Mans had a lot to do with Toyota getting into F1 racing…
“Yes, I would say that’s a big factor. But the decision to participate in F1 was actually made while the Le Mans cars were being constructed. The decision was made before any successes at Le Mans. At the time, though, our Japanese headquarters had gained a good understanding of the process of making cars in the factory in Germany. At the same time, Toyota had been supplying engines for the CART series in America, but the decision to go into F1 was made before we started to win in that series, too. Management had the vision to see that Toyota was at a level where we were ready to build and enter our own machines into the famous Le Mans race and the top-class open wheel series in the U.S. In a sense, I think Toyota management was extremely visionary to make the decision to get into F1 even before there were any clear results from our Le Mans and CART programs.

• Among all of Toyota’s current motorsport activities, the F1 series has to be the most high-profile. In what way does Toyota plan to communicate the “dreams and possibilities” of the car and the “fun of motorsport” through their participation in F1?
“First of all, I don’t think that all of what we want to communicate can be done just through participation in F1. But I would say that F1 is part of our ‘growth process.’ Each race has its own particular drama, but the real question is what will happen over the long haul. When we first started in F1, we had some early success, but I would say that in our third year we had lost ground. Now in our fourth year, we’ve recovered to a point where we’re basically third overall. Showing this process to the world—in other words, showing the journey proving where you can go when you take on a challenge like this—I think there’s something there in that process that we want others to see.”

	The never-ending process of F1 research and development. Working hard every day toward victory.

• Mr. Matsui, what is your personal vision of Toyota’s future in F1?
“In contrast to our Le Mans program, I don’t think Toyota views F1 participation as a short-term commitment. That means that we have to go all out—all the way. We won’t stop after we win the title. It’s important that we maintain a certain level of performance over time.

• What do you believe is driving Toyota to reach that level?
”I guess you would have to say that once you set a challenge for yourself, you can’t stop until you reach the goal, even if your progress is slow and steady. You can’t stop until you reach the top. Can we make it? Yes, absolutely. We have the confidence. Toyota can do it. When we got involved in CART, we had a real tough time at first…there were some incredible problems to overcome along the way. But we got better and we made it through to victory. We have a list of successes like that. That’s why we have a strong sense that we can do whatever we set our minds to accomplish.”