The short, incredible history of Toleman · RaceFans

The Toleman Formula 1 team was founded in 1981 by Ted Toleman, who died yesterday, deserves its place in the sport’s history despite its relatively brief existence and limited success.

In its short lifespan, Toleman contested just 57 grands prix. It never won a world championship. It never won a grand prix. It only contested three full seasons.

But Toleman was the starting point for many successful careers, of both drivers and team staff. And the team Ted Toleman founded went on to enjoy enormous success under different owners, and is one of just 10 still competing in F1 today.

Toleman’s grandfather founded the automotive group which was named after the family in 1926. Under Ted Toleman it expanded into motor racing, first in saloon cars and junior single-seater series. But his ambitions grew, and when considering an expansion into Formula 3 Toleman decided the sensible step would be to aim one rung higher on the ladder.

Formula 2

Toleman enjoyed immediate success on its arrival in Formula 2, Rad Dougall taking the team’s March 782 chassis to the podium at Thruxton in 1978. This proved a false dawn: Toleman’s crew had little experience of racing on the mainland European circuits which made up most of the F2 calendar, and he only scored one more point all season.

But Dougall’s victory at Thruxton the following year, in a March fettled by upcoming young designer Rory Byrne, showed the team was serious. His team mate Brian Henton came close to winning the championship in their second season, losing out after the FIA rejected the team’s post-season appeal over their disqualification from the Enna round.

Henton captured the title the following year, backed up by team mate Derek Warwick in second place. Off the back of that success, Toleman looked to quickly make the next step up, bringing both their F2 drivers with them.

1981

As Toleman prepared to make the leap up to F1 it expanded its roster of staff. One notable hiring who would go on to enjoy great success with the team was Pat Symonds, who assisted with the research and development of Byrne’s first F1 car, the TG181.

Toleman took the bold decision not to follow the popular route of using normally aspirated Cosworth DFV power in for its first design but instead enlisted Brian Hart, who they worked with in Formula 2, to produce a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine. They had…