Heading into the new season, several teams retained the same line-up as they had in 2001, however some teams changed drivers for 2002. The Benetton team was renamed Renault, ending its 16-year involvement in Formula One, and the Japanese car maker Toyota debuted with drivers Allan McNish and Mika Salo after it spent 2001 developing the TF102. The Prost team was liquidated in January 2002 after it was unable to locate money from sponsors or a buyer to remain solvent. The two-time world champion Mika Häkkinen took a sabbatical and fellow Finn Kimi Räikkönen replaced him at McLaren, whose Sauber car was driven by Felipe Massa, the 2001 Euro Formula 3000 champion. At the Jordan team, the 2001 British Formula Three champion Takuma Sato paired with Giancarlo Fisichella, whom Jarno Trulli replaced at Renault. Former Prost driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen drove Jos Verstappen's Arrows car, and Fernando Alonso left Minardi to become Renault's test driver; he was replaced by International Formula 3000 competitor Mark Webber.
