Toyota's Engine Power

[Mark F1]

Just read an article in this week's Autosport about the testing at Barcelona last week and the thing that struck me was the apparent power of Toyota's Engine. They quoted it as having 850 BHP (Only BMW, Ferrari, Mercedes & perhaps Jaguar have more powerful engines) and they also said that the top speed it achieved on the pit-straight was 309 km/h (206 Mph).

Add the fact that the fastest speed in last year's Spanish Grand Prix was 199 Mph (Set by Mika Hakkinen) and you quickly see that although there testing times have ranged between two to four seconds slower than the front runners at both Barcelona and Valencia, they have quite a speedy little engine in the back of the TF102.

If they manage to make the engine a reliable one, who knows where they will end up at the seasons end. They won't set the world on fire, but they could well gain a few decent points scoring positions in the more than capable hands of McNish and Salo.

Am I right or a complete nutter, What do you think?