Toleman, Where Senna Began

A car delivery family business turned racing team, Toleman gave Ayrton Senna his debut and became the foundation of the Enstone lineage.

Toleman grew out of a family company that delivered Ford cars, run by brothers Ted and Bob Toleman with Alex Hawkridge. After success in Formula Two with designer Rory Byrne, the team moved up to Formula One in 1981 from its base in Witney, Oxfordshire, using Hart turbo engines.

It started 57 Grands Prix from 1981 to 1985 and is best remembered for Ayrton Senna's debut season in 1984, when he finished second in the rain at Monaco and third in Britain and Portugal. Teo Fabi gave the team its only pole, in Germany in 1985, and Derek Warwick was among its other drivers. The Benetton Group then bought the team, and engineers including Byrne and Pat Symonds stayed to build it into the title winning Benetton Formula.

Drivers

• Ayrton Senna
• Bruno Giacomelli