The Toyota TF102 was the car with which the Toyota team competed in the 2002 Formula One season, the team's inaugural Championship campaign. The car reflected the results of a year's testing in 2001 with the TF101, and was designed primarily by Dago Rohrer, Gustav Brunner and René Hilhorst. The engine was designed by

Luca Marmorini Luca Marmorini (born 17 June 1961) is the former head of the engine and electronics department at the Ferrari Formula One team. Marmorini started his Formula One career with Ferrari in , which he joined after completing a mechanical doctorate. He s ...

. As with the TF101, it was piloted during the season by Mika Salo and Allan McNish.

Development

The car had a much more conventional look in the aerodynamic sense than the test car did, something that was commented on by Brunner at its launch in November 2001: "The car tested during 2001 showed the results we wanted. This new model reflects the latest technology, and has a much more conventional setup than the test car." The car sported a different paint livery than the one seen on the test car, with a more abstract red and white design taking over from the contoured lines of the previous model.

Performance

At the opening race of the 2002 season in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

, Salo came home sixth to give the team a point on its Formula One début. The Finn added a second point two races later, in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. McNish, meanwhile, was on course for a point of his own in

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, but a pit-lane mistake by the team meant he finished seventh. During qualifying for the final race of the season, at Suzuka, he wrote off a chassis completely when he crashed at the super-quick 130R corner, also tearing a hole in the

Armco AK Steel Holdings Corporation was a steelmaking company headquartered in West Chester Township, Butler County, Ohio. The company, whose name was derived from the initials of Armco, its predecessor company, and Kawasaki Steel Corporation, was a ...

barrier. However, he sustained no serious injury, which paid testament to the safety of the TF102. The two points put Toyota tenth in the Constructors' Championship, behind

Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal followi ...

on count-back ( Mark Webber had finished fifth in Australia) but ahead of the financially troubled Arrows. Team principal Ove Andersson had warned at the beginning of the season that it would be very much a "learning year" and overall the car's performance was received with optimism due to its sturdy reliability.

Complete Formula One results

( key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

References

External links

TF102 Evolution at Toyota F1 official siteTF102 Facts at f1db.com
{{F1 cars 2002 Toyota Formula One cars 2002 Formula One season cars