TOKYO – Toyota returns to Formula 1 after 15 years, as the Japanese automaker becomes a “technical partner” of the American racing team Haas.
There will be Toyota branding on Haas cars starting next week's United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, with the auto giant's racing division providing “design, technical and manufacturing services” to the Carolina-based team. northern.
However, this does not mean a return for the official Toyota team that raced in F1 for eight seasons until 2009.
Toyota president Akio Toyoda suggested on Friday he had second thoughts about retiring from F1. But not for obvious reasons.
“I think that, somewhere deep in his heart, that older, ordinary car-loving guy, Akio Toyoda, had always regretted having blocked – by retiring from F1 – the young Japanese's path to driving the cars. fastest cars in the world,” he said.
And then he added: “That said, with the media watching my every step, I dare to add that I continue to believe that my decision as president of Toyota to retire from F1 was not wrong.”
Haas will continue to compete under its own name and Toyota will not supply engines as it did for other teams in the 2000s.
Haas already has a deal to use Ferrari engines until 2028 as part of an existing partnership leading up to Haas' first F1 season in 2016. Haas previously extended its deal with Ferrari in July to cover new F1 regulations coming in 2026. .
The deal expands Haas' strategy of relying on external partners for much of the work that other F1 teams do internally. Since its debut in 2016, the American team has worked closely with Ferrari, including with its design office in Maranello, Italy, Ferrari's hometown, and relies on Italian race car manufacturer Dallara to build its cars.
Haas is clear that it is not trying to replace Ferrari with Toyota. Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said he spoke with his Ferrari counterpart Fred Vasseur “from the early stages of this collaboration idea” with Toyota.
Toyota is looking to develop future F1 drivers, although Haas does not have a free seat for next year.
The head of Toyota's Gazoo racing division, Tomoya Takahashi, said in a statement on Friday that Toyota would seek to “cultivate drivers, engineers and mechanics” in its partnership with Haas. The team has already signed Ferrari reserve Oliver Bearman and the experienced Esteban Ocon, who is currently at Alpine, as its drivers for 2025.
“Some might come to the conclusion: Toyota is back in F1. But that is not the case,” Takahashi said. “Through this partnership we believe it would be fantastic if we could develop drivers who could secure regular seats in F1 in the future.”
A Toyota driver, Ryo Hirakawa, is a reserve at McLaren this year. Komatsu said Toyota drivers would initially be given time to test older F1 cars at Haas. Toyota could also provide engineers to fill gaps at Haas, which has a relatively small staff by F1 standards.
Toyota spent lavishly when it joined F1 in 2002, as it tried to build a title-winning team, but never won a race despite several failures.
Toyota made a sudden announcement at the end of the 2009 season that it would be leaving F1 as part of a cost-cutting programme, even though it had almost finished designing its car for the following season.
Since then, Toyota has focused on other forms of auto racing such as NASCAR, the Le Mans 24-hour race, where it has a rivalry with Ferrari, and rallying.
Toyota-Haas F1's announcement on Friday came just over a week after the company was among three big Japanese firms to pull sponsorship money from the Olympics.
Haas is seventh of 10 teams in this year's F1 constructors' championship standings.
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