Gascoyne seeks more Toyota points

Toyota chief Mike Gascoyne has demanded a double points finish next weekend in Spain.

Gascoyne has turned the team’s fortunes around since arriving as technical director and this year Toyota have claimed their first podium finishes, emerging as genuine contenders.

Last weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix was tipped to be a difficult one for them and Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher came home seventh and eighth respectivaly before the German was dropped out of the points by a post-race penalty.

Gascoyne expects Barcelona to be kinder to his cars and warns Trulli and Schumacher that only another points haul will do.

He said: “Imola was always going to be one of the toughest races for Toyota. Ralf’s 25-second penalty aside, we were competitive enough to get both cars in the points by the chequered flag, so I do not see any reason why we cannot fight for points at every event this season.

“Spain will be slightly better for us than Imola, so both cars in the top eight is my minimum expectation for this weekend.”

To help their cause, Gascoyne is promising an improved car in Spain.

He added: “As part of our race-by-race updates, we are bringing some significant new aero bits to Barcelona, including upgrades to the sidepods and diffuser, in order to further improve the efficiency of our package.

“This, combined with the aero upgrades introduced in Imola, will result in another slight step forward in terms of our overall performance.”