- Toyota Gazoo Racing and MoneyGram Haas F1 team agreed on a technical partnership.
- The goal is for Japanese drivers, engineers, and mechanics to gain F1 experience.
- Akio Toyoda doesn’t regret withdrawing from F1 in 2009, ruling out a possible return.
The Toyota emblem is making a return to Formula 1, though not quite in the way you might expect. Toyota Gazoo Racing has announced a fresh technical partnership with the MoneyGram Haas F1 Haas , with a focus on promoting young Japanese talent—drivers, engineers, and mechanics—within the high-speed world of F1.
Toyota isn’t diving headfirst back into the F1 championship as an engine supplier, despite the lingering nostalgia from their 2002 to 2009 stint. Instead, this partnership is all about knowledge transfer and training. Toyota Gazoo Racing personnel will gain hands-on experience, while Haas benefits from Toyota’s technical expertise, especially in aerodynamics and component development.
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In practice, drivers, engineers, and mechanics from Toyota Gazoo Racing will have the chance to participate in Haas F1 test drives, soaking up invaluable experience from the most elite motorsport in the world. For drivers, it’s an opportunity to sharpen their skills, while engineers will get a crash course in data-heavy race engineering.
Toyota Gazoo Racing / Facebook
But it doesn’t stop at trackside action. Engineers and mechanics from Toyota Gazoo Racing will take part in the Haas F1 team aerodynamics development, helping design and manufacture carbon-fiber components using their experience from production vehicles. Toyota will then be able to apply the insights gained to its own vehicle development programs.
Toyota’s 2009 F1 Exit: No Regrets, But Some What-Ifs
Speaking about his decision to withdraw from F1 after the 2009 season, Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda shared: “I think that, somewhere deep in his heart, that ordinary older car-loving guy Akio Toyoda had always regretted having blocked – by pulling out of F1 – Japanese youths’ path toward driving the world’s fastest cars. That said, with the media watching my every step, I dare to add that I still believe my decision as the president of Toyota to withdraw from F1 was not wrong.”
In true Toyoda fashion, he also threw a little shade, asking the automotive media to steer clear of clickbait titles like “Toyota finally returns to F1.” Instead, he encouraged them to “inspire Japanese children to dream of the possibility that they too could one day drive the world’s fastest cars”.
As part of the announcement, Haas F1 showed a single-seater with Toyota Gazoo Racing graphics on the rear wing, and the GR emblem on the nose. The collaboration with Toyota won’t affect Haas’ ongoing technical partnership with Ferrari, which supplies the powertrains for the single-seaters.
Toyota Gazoo Racing is actively involved with various kinds of motorsports, including the World Rally Championship, the World Endurance Championship, the Dakar Rally, and NASCAR.
The takeaway? Toyota’s not coming back to F1 in the traditional sense, but they’re making sure the next generation of Japanese talent is ready to race at the highest level.