In 2002 Toyota started racing in Formula One with Toyota Motorsport GmbH, based in Cologne, Germany. Although the team scored a point in their first race in Australia, the first two seasons delivered multiple retirements and poor finishes. In 2004, designer Mike Gascoyne was hired to improve results, following previous experience at Jordan and Renault. Under Gascoyne Toyota gained fourth place in the constructors championship in , scoring 88 points and five podium finishes - in what was to be the team's best Formula One season.