TOKYO, OCT 11 – Toyota returned to the prestigious F1 race after 15 years when the Japanese automaker became the ‘technical partner’ of the racing team from the United States (US), Haas.
There will be Toyota branding on Haas machinery starting from next week’s US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, and the giant’s racing division will provide ‘design, technical and manufacturing services’ to the North Carolina-based team.
However, this does not mean the return of the old Toyota team that participated in F1 for eight seasons until 2009.
Haas will still race under its own name and Toyota will not supply engines as it did for other teams during the 2000s.
Haas already has an agreement to use Ferrari engines until 2028 since the start of Haas’ first F1 season in 2016. Haas also previously extended its Ferrari deal last July for the new F1 rules to come in 2026.
The announcement of a ‘multi-year deal’ seemed to suggest Toyota could seek to place a driver with Haas, which has no replacement driver for next year.
The head of Toyota’s Gazoo racing division, Tomoya Takahashi, said in a statement today that Toyota will aim to ‘cultivate drivers, engineers and mechanics’ in its partnership with Haas. The team has signed Ferrari reserve driver Oliver Bearman and experienced Esteban Ocon, currently at Alpine, as its drivers for 2025.
Toyota spent lavishly when it entered F1 in 2002 as it tried to build a title-winning team, but never won a race despite coming close a few times.
Toyota made a surprise announcement at the end of the 2009 season to leave F1 as part of a cost-cutting program despite almost finishing designing the machinery for the following season.
Since then, Toyota has focused on other forms of car racing such as NASCAR, the 24 hours of Le Mans – where it has a strong rivalry with Ferrari.
Today’s Toyota-Haas F1 announcement comes more than a week after the company was among the big three Japanese firms to pull sponsorship from the Olympics. – AFP
