The car reflected the results of a year's testing in 2001 with the TF101, and was designed primarily by Dago Rohrer, Gustav Brunner and René Hilhorst.

At the opening race of the 2002 season in Melbourne, Salo came home sixth to give the team a point on its Formula One début.

[5] During qualifying for the final race of the season, at Suzuka, he wrote off a chassis completely when he crashed at the super-quick 130R corner, also tearing a hole in the Armco barrier.

[6] The two points put Toyota tenth in the Constructors' Championship, behind Minardi on count-back (Mark Webber had finished fifth in Australia) but ahead of the financially troubled Arrows.

[7] Team principal Ove Andersson had warned at the beginning of the season that it would be very much a "learning year" and overall the car's performance was received with optimism due to its sturdy reliability.