Despite the announcement made Tuesday about the supply by Williams of their transmissions to the Spanish Formula 1 team Hispania Racing, negotiations between Hispania and Toyota Motorsport are not over.
Auto123.com joined by phone Pascal Vasselon, technical director at Toyota Motorsport located in Marsdorf in the suburbs of Cologne, Germany to discuss the matter.
One could have supposed that the supply of gearboxes by Williams to Hispania would have put an end to the negotiations between Hispania and Toyota, as the Spanish team is trying to use a car produced by Toyota in 2011.
Since the Williams gearbox has been designed and manufactured to be fitted to the Cosworth engine (and not the Toyota), it made sense to assume that Hispania no longer needed to use the Toyota car nest season.
According to Vasselon, it is not the case.
"Such an assumption is premature," Vasselon told Auto123.com.
"Negotiations are still going on with Hispania. One must not jump to conclusions too quickly. Our ability to support a F1 team is not confined to just one thing. It is a complete package that includes the engine, the gearbox and the chassis,” Vasselon said.
"Hispania Racing Team has been a customer of Toyota Motorsport this season. We also have several F1 teams, and even some of the biggest teams, among our current customers. I cannot say much yet, but we continue to discuss with Hispania. I think we will be able to make an announcement a little later,” Vasselon added.
Auto123.com joined by phone Pascal Vasselon, technical director at Toyota Motorsport located in Marsdorf in the suburbs of Cologne, Germany to discuss the matter.
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| The un-raced Toyota TF110. (Photo: racecarengineering.com) |
One could have supposed that the supply of gearboxes by Williams to Hispania would have put an end to the negotiations between Hispania and Toyota, as the Spanish team is trying to use a car produced by Toyota in 2011.
Since the Williams gearbox has been designed and manufactured to be fitted to the Cosworth engine (and not the Toyota), it made sense to assume that Hispania no longer needed to use the Toyota car nest season.
According to Vasselon, it is not the case.
"Such an assumption is premature," Vasselon told Auto123.com.
"Negotiations are still going on with Hispania. One must not jump to conclusions too quickly. Our ability to support a F1 team is not confined to just one thing. It is a complete package that includes the engine, the gearbox and the chassis,” Vasselon said.
"Hispania Racing Team has been a customer of Toyota Motorsport this season. We also have several F1 teams, and even some of the biggest teams, among our current customers. I cannot say much yet, but we continue to discuss with Hispania. I think we will be able to make an announcement a little later,” Vasselon added.