JANUARY 15, 2009

Marmorini leaves Toyota

Luca Marmorini, the head of Toyota's F1 engine development, has left the company.

Luca Marmorini, the head of Toyota's F1 engine development, has left the company.

"Luca made a fantastic contribution to Toyota since the beginning of the Formula 1 project, including invaluable work on the RVX-09 engine and Kinetic Energy Recovery System projects, but he has chosen to leave the team," the team said. He will be replaced by Japan's Kazuo Takeuchi.

Under cost-saving measures, the engines have also been limited to 18,000 rpm compared to 19,000 last year and there is much less development possible. It is not clear what Marmorini will do in the future but he was previously employed at Ferrari.