Toyota TF108

The Toyota TF108 was a Formula One car with which Toyota competed in the 2008 Formula One season. The chassis was designed by Pascal Vasselon, John Litjens and Mark Gillan with the engine being designed by Luca Marmorini and Noritoshi Arai overseeing the entire project. The cars best finish was second in the Hungarian Grand Prix, driven by Timo Glock.

Toyota TF108
CategoryFormula One
ConstructorToyota
Designer(s)Noritoshi Arai (Director Technical Coordination)
Pascal Vasselon (Senior General Manager Chassis)
John Litjens (Chief Designer)
Mark Gillan (Head of Aerodynamics)
PredecessorTF107
SuccessorTF109
Technical specifications
ChassisMoulded carbon fibre and honeycomb construction monocoque
Suspension (front)Carbon fibre double wishbone arrangement, with carbon fibre trackrod and pushrod
Suspension (rear)Carbon fibre double wishbone arrangement, with carbon fibre trackrod and pushrod
EngineToyota RVX-08 2398cc 19,000 RPM Limited
TransmissionToyota/WilliamsF1/Xtrac collaboration 7-speed unit plus reverse
FuelEsso
LubricantsMobil 1
BrakesBrembo callipers and master cylinders, Hitco material (carbon/carbon)
TyresBridgestone Potenza
BBS forged magnesium
Competition history
Notable entrantsPanasonic Toyota Racing
Notable drivers11. Jarno Trulli
12. Timo Glock
Debut2008 Australian Grand Prix
RacesWinsPodiumsPolesF.Laps
180200

Launch
Timo Glock testing the TF108 at Valencia, 01-23-2008.

The 2008 Toyota challenger, the Toyota TF108, was launched on 10 January 2008, at the team's factory in Cologne, Germany.[1]

Jarno Trulli was retained as one of the team's drivers for the 2008 season and was joined by former Jordan driver Timo Glock. The Toyota test and reserve driver for the 2008 season was Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi.[2]

The Toyota team let driver Ralf Schumacher go at the end of the 2007 Formula One season, Schumacher then signed a contract with Mercedes-Benz in the DTM for the 2008 season.[3]

Technical developments

New concept design

The TF108 had a new longer wheelbase to aid stability and a totally new aero package that was hoped to give the car great potential. It was not an evolution of the previous year's TF107; instead it had been designed from an evolution of the TF106, used for the 2006 season. Pascal Vasselon, the team's chassis general manager noted that the "primary aerodynamic design philosophy for the TF108 is geared towards optimising the entire package".[4]

Rule changes

The car also had the new for 2008 higher headrests around the drivers head and also had the new standard McLaren Electronic Systems ECU that prevented the car having driver aids.

Changes in aerodynamics

Toyota had adopted a McLaren MP4-22-like bridge on the front wing,[5] and also moved the rear view mirrors outboard, like Ferrari and Renault.[6] The TF108 had also had a major focus on cleaning the air flow around the front suspension, maximising the zero keel concept of the front suspension.[7]

Alternative liveries
Jarno Trulli driving the TF108 at the French GP. Note the black stripe on the nosecone.
  • At the 2008 French Grand Prix the car ran with a black stripe along the nosecone, to commemorate the life of former Toyota F1 boss, Ove Andersson, who had died earlier that month.
The TF108's The Dark Knight livery at the British GP.

2008 season

2008 testing

Timo Glock was fastest[9] in testing at Jerez on 17 January, whilst test driver Kamui Kobayashi was 7th fastest on the same day.

Toyota and Ferrari had been the only teams in 2008 to test outside the common test tracks in Spain (Valencia, Jerez and the Circuit de Catalunya), having chosen to test in sunnier conditions in Bahrain from the 4th to 6 February and 9th until 11 February 2008.[10]

Later in the month of February, Toyota, alongside Ferrari, returned to the Circuit de Catalunya to finish off their preparations for the season opener in Melbourne. Toyota rolled out a new aero package,[11] with Pascal Vasselon saying that "The new aerodynamics package we brought here is a clear step forward". The very next day, Jarno Trulli completed the day with a time of 1.20.801, fastest overall, Red Bull-Renault driver David Coulthard was second with a time of 01:21.258 on the same day.[12]

Racing

The TF108 marked an improvement of form for Toyota. Trulli scored points in 10 of the 18 races, with a 3rd place in France the highlight of his season. Teammate Glock finished in the points at 6 races including 2nd in Hungary. With a total of 56 points, Toyota scored more points in 2008 then the last 2 seasons combined. Both Trulli and Glock were retained for 2009.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year Team Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Points WCC
2008 Toyota F1 Toyota V8 B AUS MAL BHR ESP TUR MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN EUR BEL ITA SIN JPN CHN BRA 56 5th
Trulli Ret 4 6 8 10 13 6 3 7 9 7 5 16 13 Ret 5 Ret 8
Glock Ret Ret 9 11 13 12 4 11 12 Ret 2 7 9 11 4 Ret 7 6
gollark: Neither is very practical.
gollark: Design laziness maybe.
gollark: It is really weird to have it shipped but disabled in the P-cores, yes.
gollark: To have AVX-512 I mean.
gollark: They would have to add ~four times the memory for registers in the E-cores.

References
  1. "Toyota reveals TF108 in Cologne". GPUpdate.net. 10 January 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  2. "Kobayashi expects to learn a lot". GPUpdate.net. 11 January 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  3. "Ralf Schumacher joins DTM series in 2008". GPUpdate.net. 18 February 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  4. "Longer wheelbase, new aero concept for latest Toyota". Formula1.com.
  5. "A brand new bridge wing for Toyota". f1technical.net.
  6. "TF108 follows trend to move mirrors outboard". f1technical.net.
  7. "Toyota focus on aerodynamics in suspension". f1technical.net.
  8. "Toyota brings Batman to Silversone". ITV-F1. 1 July 2008. Archived from the original on 1 August 2008.
  9. "Jerez day three - Glock masters the TF108". Formula1.com.
  10. "Only Ferrari and Toyota will travel to Bahrain". GPUpdate.net. 22 January 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  11. "Toyota happy with new aero package". GPUpdate.net. 26 February 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  12. "Trulli fastest on final day of pre-season testing". f1technical.net.
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