WilliamsF1 and Toyota Motorsport GmbH today confirmed that an agreement has been reached yesterday evening between the two parties for a three year Formula One engine supply partnership. The agreement will see WilliamsF1 powered by Toyota engines commencing with the 2007 season.

Under the terms of the agreement, WilliamsF1 will use the same specification of engine as Panasonic Toyota Racing. Both Williams and Panasonic Toyota Racing see significant benefits from a relationship based on robust on-track competition and close off-track co-operation.

On the announcement of the agreement, Toyota's Executive Vice President Kazuo Okamoto said, "We are delighted to be supplying Williams with engines from 2007 and working alongside a team rich in history and Formula One spirit."

John Howett, President of Toyota Motorsport, added: "We are pleased to be selected as the engine provider to Williams and look forward to establish a strong relationship with them.
We look forward to both teams using each other as a comparative benchmark from which each can improve its own performance and to competing with each other at the front of the grid."

For his part, WilliamsF1's Team Principal, Frank Williams commented, "This agreement is the cornerstone of Williams' challenge for the World Championship. Toyota is an impressive and remarkable industrial giant, with the most phenomenal reputation for achieving the goals it sets itself. We are proud to have secured their support in our efforts to return to our competitive best."

oh what a feeling?



anyway, toyota rocks.

Heh, I remember when we were discussing this 3/4 months ago PKR!

No real suprise.....

Pity the willys chassis is soo far behind.....

Fingers X'd for next year.

On a side note, Rosberg is staying put (wasnt much doubt anyway) however where Mark goes is still an unknown.

I thought that it had been pretty much confirmed that Mark was staying at Williams as well?

oh well, good to see that Wiliams have signed with Toyota. Hopefully they can turn the cars around now and start being more competitive.

Its still up in the air at the moment Damone.

Reason is - before Montoya made the shock annoucement he was moving to NASCAR next season, Mark stated in an interview that he had already signed a deal for next season.

Montoya stated that Frank Williams approached him about a seat next season, which Frank Williams confirmed.

So this raises the issue of whether Mark had signed PRIOR to these talks taking place.

There is alot of speculation about who is going where considering Raikonnen was almost certain to go to Ferrari until thier late surgence which has put Schumacher in 2 minds about retireing.

Unfortunately, I don't think Mark will be at Renault next year because Raikonnen is being chased my Flavio Briatore which means (because Mark has already stated he has a drive) that either Red Bull with Coulthard, Ferrari (somehow) with Schumacher or Raikonnen dependent upon Schumachers future or Williams are Marks options.

With Red Bull looking at Renault engines next year you can see the manager / driver relationship with Flav and Mark and the reasons for Mark to go to Red Bull possibly with a clause giving him the change to go to the Renault works team in time.

But, being silly season nobody really has any idea until its made official. Which frustates the hell out of me. :S

webs will be with williams next year, 95% confident on that, i have a feeling that is why toyota signed on as they wanted a guarantee that they weren't going to be embarrased by having a team with 2 junior drivers and wanted them to have at least one experienced driver for their initial season next year with williams

Rather willys then RB thats for sure.

Fully forgot about this thread, must have been the toyota bit

Yeah Hoods, I do remember us chattng about it but somehow missed your earlier thread about it, i need to open my eyes a bit wider sometimes!

Long term this should be a good move for willies and possibly their last chance to stay competitive in F1 as the big car makers seem to be taking over with their big budgets. Toyota will cetainly be a reliable partner with alot of data to share as they are already powering midland aswell as their own works team.

Franks cars looked good at last nights GP, real pity for Mark as the cosworth let go, but the car did show some good speed.

Yep.....same old broken record excuse that they've been wheeling out for the whole season. If Mark Webber has signed with Williams for '07 and beyond..... he's commited career suicide.

Yeah true story. They have been reminding me of Honda in that way, when the car is going they seem to be quick enough until that weak link, engine. Last night reminded me of Monaco, mark was quick and looking for some decent points until another blow up.

Cosworth have some very bright peeps with em and i'm certain they will come back...eventually.

It's not actually the engine....

Waterpump feeding the engine had a leak, the Cosworth has actually been pretty good this season - the cars mechanical glitches have let them down.

Got me too early, havent read any reports yet.

Either way cosworth will get it right, like you say its just the little bugs to iron out....and correction to my last post, monaco was a wiring loom that was too close to the exhaust, not the engine expiring.

heh

Either way its absolutely shattering to watch.

I rang a good mate of mine 10 laps from the end because I didnt want him to miss Webs if he was on the podium - he'll be pissed at me now.

What could of been hey.

Australia
Monaco
Germany

Contract deadline next few days.

Yup spot on! Water leak caused the failure.....

Mark Webber drove a great race today at Hockenheim and looked set for a solid points haul with a fourth or fifth position before mechanical gremlins intervened and the Australian was forced to pit his smoking Williams Cosworth. Nico Rosberg's race lasted just seconds before he crashed entering the stadium section for the first time.

Mark Webber
“It was a promising race but a disappointing ending. I had a really good start and climbed from 11th to sixth after lap one and the stint went well. I had a big fight with Rubens who got me in the end, but I knew he was lighter and had to stop before me. After the first pit stop I passed Fisichella on the track and was on the limit until the second stop. After that, things started to go wrong – I lost a bit of balance on the car and then suddenly started to lose engine power quickly. It seems we had a water leak, which of course is terminal for an engine and it was all over eight laps from the end.”

Nico Rosberg
“It was very disappointing not to fully participate in the race because it looked like a lot of fun to be racing here today in front of a home crowd. The car has been good for most of the weekend and I wanted to move up the field as quickly as possible. I lost the rear in the Motodrome but didn’t really feel it coming – I probably overdid it because I wanted to get too much out of the first lap. Mark had a great race today and deserved to get some strong points for his performance, but if nothing else, at least we are turning the corner with our pace.
I will put today behind me quickly as we will be racing in Hungary next weekend.”

Sam Michael, Technical Director
“We have made some clear progress in terms of our pace, although today’s reliability was very disappointing. Mark had a great drive today and we knew our tyre would be much better in race conditions than in qualifying, but we suffered a failure of a water pipe between the engine and the water cooler, so we gradually lost water. After Mark’s second pit stop, we started to see the problem, which hurt our ability to keep Raikkonen behind us, but the worst finishing position Mark would have had today was fifth. Unfortunately Nico was out on the first lap.”

Chris Jilbert, Cosworth Principal Engineer
“It’s very disappointing to have to retire from the race when Mark was running so strongly. The engine has continued to work perfectly all weekend, and we increased the duty to help hold position. Unfortunately, the water supply hose to the engine appears to have been damaged resulting in significant water loss. We risked carrying on as far as we could, but in the end the engine just got too hot, and the car was forced to retire.”

E.A.
Source Williams Cosworth

Mark's had a total of 5 DNF's this season now due to "mechanical" or "technical" issues........

more on mark webber.....

http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,...2-23770,00.html

Webber's salary may be slashed
From correspondents in Hockenheim, Germany
July 31, 2006

AUSTRALIAN Mark Webber is prepared take a pay cut to secure his Formula One future at Williams as the deadline for the team to take up its 2007 option approached.

The 29-year-old joined Williams at the end of 2004 and can expect a significant salary hike if he is retained for the final two years of the original contract, but with negotiations continuing, the driver may end up earning less than he does now.

"We did basically a four-year deal (in 2004)," Webber, who is managed by Renault team boss Flavio Briatore, told reporters at the German Grand Prix.

"It's not no (yet), but it's not yes as it was potentially.

"But we are trying bloody hard to make it work and I think there's a good chance that we will."

Asked whether he would take a salary cut, he said: "Yes".

Williams, an independent team, operate on a tight budget and slashed its driver costs at the end of 2004 when it replaced Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya and Germany's Ralf Schumacher with Webber and Nick Heidfeld.

Team boss Frank Williams has made clear his admiration of the driver, however.

"I think he's really raised his game," he said at the weekend.

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"I really think he's done superbly, he really has made a big step forward. He is totally apolitical, which is a rare privilege to have a driver like that."

Webber said a 'fresh relationship' could be the way forward, implying that the existing contract could be allowed to lapse and a new one negotiated for less money than the team would otherwise have to pay.

"We understand the situation the team's in, I think he (Williams) wants to take it (the option) up but now we are in a different situation," he said. "The original plan's not going to work, we have to work something else."

Webber could also be on Renault's radar, with that team needing to replace world champion Fernando Alonso after his move to McLaren.

Renault are chasing McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen but the signs are that the Finn will be heading for Ferrari.

Webber did not rule out a switch, although he said Raikkonen called the shots.

"If there is a choice between Kimi and Webber, they'll take Kimi. It's a no-brainer. I've got six points this year. That's the food chain, that's life mate," he said.

Webber said more time could suit all parties.

"I've got to look through how I see what's going to happen here in the future," he said. "They are a good team, a good bunch of guys. It can't be any worse next year."

Williams is not performing too well this season. I wonder if they are still using Toyota? Sorry, been out of the loop lately. Been busy monitoring the cool performance of Team Brawn.

nice thread revival fuckhead