The fight for title honours aside, the remaining seven grands prix of 2008 will play host to a furious race to fourth place in the constructors’ world championship.
With Ferrari, McLaren and BMW-Sauber monopolising the top three positions, the next-best teams have all identified finishing behind the leading trio as their objective for the final portion of the season.
Toyota currently occupies fourth, just four points ahead of Renault. And Red Bull, despite occupying fourth in the wake of the Monaco grand prix in May, now lies a further six points adrift.
It has been said that Toyota’s 2008 car is now a rival for the performance of the BMW-Sauber.
“We set fourth as our goal at the start of the season and it’s always nice to achieve your goals,” Toyota driver Jarno Trulli said in interview with Formule 1 Race Report.
“We can not challenge the top three now, but we can finish right behind them. I would also like to finish seventh in the (drivers’) championship,” the Italian explained.
“That would mean we have achieved everything we could.”
Compared with the lower placings, fourth is said to be worth up to $20m in terms of additional Concorde Agreement financial incentives.
