Toyota Motorsport GmbH can today confirm that Timo Glock will race for
Panasonic Toyota Racing in 2008.
Timo, the reigning GP2 Series champion, has signed a multi-year contract
and the team hopes an agreement can be reached with BMW Sauber to allow
him to test at Jerez on December 4-6.
Chairman and Team Principal Tadashi Yamashina said: "It is with great
pleasure that we confirm Timo Glock will race for Panasonic Toyota
Racing in 2008. I am convinced Timo has the potential to help this team
move forward and achieve its aims.
"Timo has great experience of motorsport in several different categories
and he reinforced his reputation by winning the highly competitive GP2
Series, which we have already seen is fantastic preparation for Formula
1. He has demonstrated a fighting spirit and good race craft in GP2 so
we believe he is the right man for the job."
Timo said: "It's a great feeling to be a Formula 1 race driver again
and I am really looking forward to this new challenge. I have worked
hard over the past few years to get this opportunity and I must say I am
grateful to Panasonic Toyota Racing for having faith in me.
"From what I have seen of the team at the track I am confident we will
be able to work well together to move forward. Even though I have not
raced in Formula 1 since 2004, I have tested quite regularly so I expect
it will take very little time for me to get back in the groove.
"I have been lucky enough to race and succeed in several different
championships in my career but my goal has always been to become a
full-time Formula 1 race driver. I believe this experience has made me
stronger as a driver and as a person.
"Of course, to return to Formula 1 racing as GP2 Series champion is a
real honour and we've all seen how well Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton
have performed as champions so that is very encouraging. I hope I can
also make a strong impression next season.
"Now I have achieved my goal of returning to Formula 1, my next target
is to work towards making 2008 a successful season for myself and
Panasonic Toyota Racing."
The 25-year-old German is, like his new team, relatively young but has a
wealth of different experience behind him since taking his first steps
into the world of motorsport as a 15-year-old in karts.
After just two years of kart racing he stepped up to single-seaters and
enjoyed an impressive rise through the ranks to Formula 1, via ADAC
Formula BMW and Formula 3. At just 22 he was a Grand Prix racer with an
unexpected Jordan debut in Canada in 2004, where he joined an exclusive
list of drivers to score points in their first race, thanks to his
seventh place.
Three more races followed at the end of the season before a switch to
the United States for 2005, where he marked himself out as a rising star
by taking Rookie of the Year honours, with a best finish of second,
coincidentally also in Montreal.
However, the lure of Formula 1 was too great and he returned to prove
his credentials in GP2. That looked a wise move this year when he came
out on top of a tough title battle and he follows previous champions
Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton into a full-time Formula 1 race drive.
-credit: toyota
