The Toyota TF103 was the car with which the Toyota F1 team competed in the 2003 Formula One season. The chassis was designed by Gustav Brunner and René Hilhorst with Luca Marmorini designing the engine. Unveiled on January 8, 2003 at the Paul Ricard circuit, its drivers were the Frenchman Olivier Panis and Brazilian Cristiano da Matta, the reigning CART FedEx Championship Series Champion from 2002.[2][3]
 Olivier Panis driving the TF103 at the 2003 British Grand Prix | |||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Toyota | ||||||||
| Designer(s) | Keizo Takahashi (Technical Director) Gustav Brunner (Chief Designer) René Hilhorst (Head of Aerodynamics) | ||||||||
| Predecessor | TF102 | ||||||||
| Successor | TF104 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite monocoque | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Pushrod with Torsion bar | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Pushrod with Torsion bar | ||||||||
| Engine | Toyota RVX-03 3.0-litre 72-degree V10 naturally-aspirated mid-engined | ||||||||
| Transmission | Toyota 7-speed, semi-automatic | ||||||||
| Power | 845 hp @ 18,400 rpm[1] | ||||||||
| Fuel | Esso | ||||||||
| Tyres | Michelin | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | Panasonic Toyota Racing | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | 20.  Olivier Panis21.  Cristiano da Matta | ||||||||
| Debut | 2003 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||
| Last event | 2003 Japanese Grand Prix | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
Development
editThe TF103 was quite a conservative design, by the team's admission it was more of a 'logical evolution' from its predecessor the TF102. Lighter and with more downforce, the car was a joint effort between Gustav Brunner's design team and Keizo Takahashi, chief of Technical co-ordination.
The biggest improvement over the TF102 came with the engine, the RVX-03 had been tested for the first time in September 2002 and offered the team benefits twofold over the RVX-02; it was lighter, and provided more power. The engine was the brainchild of Italian designer Luca Marmorini.[4]
Performance
edit
The TF103 stepped up a level in terms of performance too, with the car scoring a total of sixteen points between its drivers, da Matta outscoring Panis 10-6. Perhaps the most notable race involving the TF103 was at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix when both cars ran 1-2 for a time amidst the confusion brought about by a track invader on the 11th lap.[5]
In the constructors standings, Toyota finished in eighth, still some way off the performance their massive budget should have allowed, but equally too, it was a notable improvement on their 2002 finish.[6]
Complete Formula One results
edit(key)
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | TF103 | Toyota RVX-03 V10 | M | AUS | MAL | BRA | SMR | ESP | AUT | MON | CAN | EUR | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | ITA | USA | JPN | 16 | 8th | |
| Olivier Panis
|
Ret | Ret | Ret | 9 | Ret | Ret | 13 | 8 | Ret | 8 | 11 | 5 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 10 | ||||||
| Cristiano da Matta
|
Ret | 11 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 11 | Ret | 11 | 7 | 6 | 11 | Ret | 9 | 7 |
References
edit- ^ statsf1.com/en/moteur-toyota.aspx
- ^ "Panis joins Toyota as McNish loses seat". The Guardian. 28 August 2002. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ "ToyotaF1 sign up CART champion da Matta". Motorsport.com. 5 November 2002. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ "Toyota launch the TF103". Motorsport.com. 10 January 2003. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ "British GP: Toyota race notes". Motorsport.com. 20 July 2003. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ "2003 Constructor Standings". Formula 1. Retrieved 9 June 2023.