Quote Originally Posted by AL14 View Post
Ole, I'm not judging anyone. I wait the stage times for that. And there is no doubt they are working hard.
But like always there are facts and clues, that don't make me bet one cent on this... I have seen newcomers in a better situation. Hyundai had a proper lineup when they entered. VW had Ogier/Latvala already... They don't... I can assure I am "calm", contrary to them.
I know you are not judging

But if you look at Hyundai, they´ve been in the WRC full time since 2014, and its only this year that they are really starting to make their mark.

Volkswagen had a more delayed start, as did Citroën when it started the WRC, and both those teams had more than a year more time than Toyota before the first competition. And both started with the best driver line ups we have seen in WRC.

The TMG effort would have had a benefit of the time, but I am sure its a very good reason for Toyoda to axe that effort. And I am also sure that TMGs success in Le Mans this year has a lot to do with loosing the WRC effort, and having to prove something.

Tommi/Toyota has one big challenge, and that is that there are no top drivers wanting to go to Toyota in their first year, before they see how fast the car is. But this is not necessarily a bad thing, because it takes away some of the pressure in their first year of competition, and leads to a "softer" start.
If the car isnt that fast, one can "blame" it on the driver. If the car is really fast, one can "blame" it on the car. A win-win for Toyota.

Zotos is gone, is it good or bad? Difficult to say, but maybe there wasn't room for two roosters in the hen house? And surely there are several sides to that story.

I am guessing that Tommi is currently working about 24/7 to make his mark also as a team boss in the WRC, and I am also guessing that when the potential of the Toyota WRC car is beginning to come to fruition in the later half of the 2017-season, the drivers situation will be solved.
So to judge this effort one way or the other - well, I think that is way too soon.