Toyota hopes its new Formula One car will
allow the team to move near the front of the grid and to stay there
for good.
``My hopes are always high because normally I am very positive,''
driver Jarno Trulli said at Thursday's presentation of the car. ``I
think that the team has got the potential, the resources, the people
and everything necessary to bounce back to the position where we
belong.''
The Japanese manufacturer is coming off a poor season, having
finished sixth in the constructors' championship with only 13 points
overall in 2007.
``Our clear target in 2008 is to make a big improvement in our
results because we were not satisfied with our performance last
year,'' said team boss Tadashi Yamashina, who took over in
mid-season last year. ``We expect to have a truly competitive car so
our drivers should be aiming to finish in the points regularly and
challenging for the podium. ... Of course, our ultimate target is
the middle step of the podium. We are in Formula One to win and we
want to do that soon.''
The key features of the new TF108 are a longer wheelbase, a major
aerodynamic upgrade, revised suspension and a new gearbox.
``I have been giving input into this car since the middle of the
2007 season, helping to develop the car to adapt to the new rules
which ban traction control and engine braking,'' Trulli said.
``There is quite a big change in terms of electronics this year and
I have spent time working with the team on this. I am doing all I
can in order to help the team to step up.''
German driver Timo Glock, who has replaced his countryman Ralf
Schumacher, said he ``couldn't wait'' for the season to start.
``I aim to be consistent and to help the team move upward. My
first goal will be to regularly challenge for points and I believe
we will be able to do that,'' Glock said. ``Even though I have not
raced in Formula One since 2004, I have tested quite regularly so I
expect it will take very little time for me to get back in the
groove.''