Tsutomu Tomita's Toyota career began in the twilight years of the 1960s, when he joined the corporation as an engine development engineer in 1969. Two decades later, in 1987, he took control of all Toyota racing engines, including Le Mans V8 and V10s and those for the World Rally Championship. His passionate devotion to Toyota was rewarded in 1996, when he became a member of the board of directors, a post through which he was able to further pursue his love of motorsport. As the man responsible for all of Toyota's international motorsport activities, Tomita was the driving force behind the corporation's decision to enter Formula 1. Moreover, it was Tomita's belief in adopting the ultimate challenge that fuelled Toyota's decision to form its own works team, producing the complete car from scratch at its European motorsports subsidiary, Toyota Motorsport GmbH in Cologne. Midway through the 2003 season, Panasonic Toyota Racing's second season in F1, Tomita moved to the Toyota Motorsport factory to spearhead Toyota's F1 activities on site as Chairman. At the start of 2004, Tomita became Team Principal of the Panasonic Toyota Racing team, a role that encompasses all daily management of Toyota's F1 activities, alongside President John Howett.