[5] From 1978 to 1980, Toleman spent three seasons in the European Formula Two Championship under the leadership of Alex Hawkridge and Roger Silman.

[8] To prepare for the higher level of competition, the team hired Royale Racing designer Rory Byrne, with an eye towards eventually building his own cars.

[12][14] Byrne unveiled his first team-built chassis, the Toleman TG280, which exploited a loophole that allowed the team to continue running a ground effect car.

[17] The team continued to recruited talented engineers, signing Byrne's former Royale lieutenant Pat Symonds for 1981 by promising to double his salary.

Looking back, Symonds remarked that "if Alex and Ted Toleman had said, 'Let's go F1 racing, let's buy a [naturally aspirated Cosworth] DFV,' we'd have been a hell of a lot more successful in 1981 – but we wouldn’t have been around by 1990.

"[19] Toleman suffered greatly in the short run, due to growing pains associated with the innovative turbo technology and other issues.

During this period, Toleman's cars were mocked in the racing press as "The Pig" (for their poor handling) and "The Belgrano" (for their oil leaks).

In 1981, the team retained Brian Henton and Derek Warwick from 1980's dominant F2 campaign, but the Toleman TG181 was exceptionally poor, qualifying for just two races all season.

With sponsor Candy threatening to pull funding for 1983, the team resorted to a gimmick strategy to reach second place at the British Grand Prix, however briefly.

In response, the team scored a coup by signing highly touted rookie Ayrton Senna, who had just won the 1983 British Formula Three Championship.

[16][25] Senna was paired with Venezuelan F2 driver and former dual Grand Prix Motorcycle World Champion Johnny Cecotto.

However, Cecotto's F1 career ended mid-season when he broke both legs during practice for the British Grand Prix, and Stefan Johansson was eventually signed to finish out the season.

[16][27] However, Senna rallied to score his first F1 point at round 2 in Kyalami, despite suffering major front wing damage on the opening lap.

[28] Ironically, this decision eventually led to Toleman's demise and absorption by the Benetton Group in 1985 (see below).The TG184 and the new Michelin tyres were ready for the French Grand Prix.

[28] The very next race, Senna announced himself to the world with a dazzling second-place finish at the torrentially rain-soaked Monaco Grand Prix.

[29]) In the following years, a conspiracy theory developed that Ickx, a Porsche sportscar driver, called off the race to ensure that Prost's Porsche-powered McLaren would win.

[29][31][32] The team's performance fell off in mid-season, with Senna finishing only one out of six races at one point due to mechanical failures.

In response, Hawkridge suspended Senna for the Italian Grand Prix; release clause or not, the Brazilian was still contractually obligated to inform Toleman before negotiating with other teams.

Cecotto's belated replacement Stefan Johansson made his way from 17th place to 4th in his Toleman debut,[35] while Martini failed to qualify.

Senna returned to the team for the final two races and finished off the year in style with a third podium at the Portuguese Grand Prix.

Following Senna's departure, the Toleman team sought to maintain its momentum by retaining Johansson and signing John Watson for the 1985 season.

Michelin withdrew from F1 at the end of 1984, forcing the team to confront the fact that it had alienated every remaining tyre supplier in Formula One.

[19] The team initially lacked the funds to run multiple cars, so Teo Fabi was Toleman's sole driver for the first six races.

[38] Rory Byrne and Pat Symonds, in particular, remained with the newly rebranded Benetton Formula, which proceeded to hire a new crop of talent, including Flavio Briatore and Ross Brawn.

Ted Toleman left England in 1993,[3] but intermittently remained involved in motor racing, managing the Australian Mini Challenge one make series.