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Glock set for Toyota contract extension?

Timo Glock, Hungary 2008After a stunning weekend in Hungary, Timo Glock looks set to be rewarded for his efforts with a renewal to his contract.

Glock s race weekend was in stark contrast to the previous race meet where his suspension broke, sending him smashing into the pit-wall. At the Hungarian Grand Prix, he bounced back from his accident and finished a well-deserved second.

His future with the team had been in doubt a difficult start to the season saw the German driver fail to score any points in the first six races of the season and many believed that the F1 rookie would have his contract extended.

However his recent good form means that it appears Toyota will be taking up the option of signing him as part of the original multi-year contract that he signed towards the end of 2007.

“As I stand here today, we intend to keep both drivers,” Toyota s team principal John Howett told Autosport. “And I don t think that s ever been in doubt to be honest.

“I’m just happy that he had a really strong race here. Jarno would have had a stronger race if he hadn’t been caught behind Mark Webber because of a bad start. Overall I’m very happy we had a strong result today.

“Certainly from the moment he [Glock] drove out of the garage on Friday he has been on it all weekend. If you really look at his sector times from qualifying earlier in the season, he was struggling to put a complete lap together but generally showing he had the speed to do it.

“He proved to himself in Hockenheim, particularly on race pace, how quick he was and the fact he had an issue and he just continued from that point this weekend.”

The confirmation that Glock will probably be staying at Toyota means that it is almost certain that Toyota-backed driver Kazuki Nakajima will remain at Williams for the 2009 season.

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