Speaking about his own team, Howett insisted that the basic parameters are good enough to ensure Toyota a good season in Formula 1. However, there are no guarantees in terms of success, giving the fact that all teams will be starting from scratch. Whether focusing on certain aspects of their car development programme will pay off, only the new season will tell.
“The encouraging point last season was that what we changed and the car delivered, so the fundamental parameters are very strong and there is no reason why we shouldn’t have a good year. The worry is that one team has interpreted the new regulations in a specific way, which maybe other teams may have missed - so there is that risk,” said Howett in an interview for Formula 1's official site.
Speaking about how F1 teams chose to develop their aerodynamic package ahead of the 2009 season, Howett insisted the differences between cars are not that big, but will be stressed by the media in the weeks to come.
“I think that you can see some differences. For example the nose height - two cars have a similar height and the others are different. Those differences will probably become exaggerated over the next four to six weeks,” added Howett.
Toyota have decided to ignore the development of their KERS unit over the course of the winter break, as the Japanese manufacturer believes investing money in a technology that will not be implemented into road cars would be money down the drain. Howett himself doesn't believe KERS could make a whole lot of difference in 2009.
“We will only use it when we see that it holds a competitive advantage. It is extremely costly. And given the current financial circumstances, we are studying very carefully what is the real value of the technology within the sport we have,” commented Howett on the possibility of Toyota using the unit through the upcoming season.
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