Toyota could have a new drivers line-up next year with Kimi Raikkonen just one of the names being targeted, the team's motorsport president John Howett said. Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion, is leaving Ferrari at the end of the season and Howett hopes to tempt him to Toyota rather than a return to McLaren. "We have always expressed interest in Kimi," Howett confirmed. Toyota, who made their debut in 2002,have never won a race, have Italian Jarno Trulli and Germany's Timo Glock driving for them.
BMW-Sauber's Polish driver Robert Kubica, expected to take Fernando Alonso's place at Renault when the double world champion replaces Raikkonen at Ferrari, could be another target for the team. Trulli is unlikely to stay and the team have allowed an option on Glock, who finished second in Singapore last weekend, to lapse. "I think he did a fantastic job in Singapore and we are talking to him, but honestly speaking we feel that could have been the result in other races if we could qualify in that position," said Howett. "I am sorry, it is very a tough life, and our job is to deliver results."
gcaygill@thenational.ae
