No longer seen in Formula 1 since 2009, Toyota is making a partial return to the premier category with immediate effect, via its motorsport branch of Toyota Gazoo Racing. Partial, because the Japanese brand has in fact joined forces with an existing team, Haas, which runs on a Ferrari engine, which makes the technical alliance quite incongruous. It is in fact a question of a “new dynamic collaborative relationship” between the two entities, around an official technical partnership.
In this context of backing with Ferrari until 2028, the contract having been renewed last July, it is difficult to understand what will really be hidden behind this partnership. In the press release, we learn that “Both parties will share expertise and knowledge, as well as resources, with Toyota Gazoo Racing providing design, technical and manufacturing services, while MoneyGram Haas F1 Team will offer technical expertise and commercial benefits in return .”
Toyota, technical or commercial partnership?
Present in F1 between 2002 and 2009 under the name Toyota F1 Team, the Japanese brand had never done better than 4th in the Constructors’ World Championship (in 2005 with Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher). On the other hand, it has shone in recent years in other world categories, from WRC Rally (6 Manufacturers’ titles) to WEC Endurance (5 titles since 2018), with several world champion titles and prestigious victories. at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (5).
“We are pleased to announce that Haas and Toyota Gazoo Racing have reached a basic agreement to enter into a technical partnership such as the development of the Haas vehicle. By competing alongside MoneyGram Haas F1 Team at the pinnacle of motorsport, we aim to train drivers, engineers and mechanics while strengthening the capabilities of both entities, and we aim to contribute to motorsport and the automotive industry.”declared Tomoya Takahashi, president of Gazoo Racing Company, whose brand will appear from the United States Grand Prix (October 20) on the bodywork of the VF-24s of Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.
Kevin Magnussen’s Haas will be flanked by Toyota Gazoo Racing. © Xavi Bonilla / DPPI
Japanese Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu also confirmed his satisfaction with the idea of this alliance. “Having a global leader in the automotive sector support and work alongside our organization, while seeking to develop and accelerate its own technical and engineering expertise, is simply a partnership that has clear benefits for both parts. The ability to tap into Toyota’s resources and knowledge base while benefiting from their technical and manufacturing processes, will be instrumental to our own development and our clear desire to further increase our competitiveness in Formula 1. In return, we offer a platform for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing to fully utilize and advance its in-house engineering capabilities.”
Is this a way for Toyota to study from the inside the feasibility of a candidacy or a buyout of a team in the future? At a time when great rival Honda is winning titles with Red Bull and has made a long-term commitment by becoming the exclusive engine supplier to Aston Martin, this could make sense. Often described as the little thumb of the championship in recent years, Haas has been seeking for several months to strengthen itself and store knowledge, reason why it moved to Maranello with its engine partner Ferrari, and reason why it will try to take advantage of Toyota’s know-how. Between a real technical partnership or a simple commercial lease like the Sauber-Alfa Romeo of recent years, the future will tell what it really is.
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