More details emerge on Toyota’s sensational return to the F1 grid with Haas

More details have emerged on Toyota’s sensational return to the F1 grid with Haas in a deal that will see Toyota’s drivers take part in Haas test sessions.

Toyota and Haas announced on Friday that Toyota Gazoo Racing, the Japanese company’s motorsport competition arm, would become Haas’ official technical partner.

Toyota reveal details of Haas agreement

The deal effectively brings Toyota back to the F1 grid from the next race of 2024, the United States Grand Prix, with Toyota Gazoo president Tomoya Takahashi describing it as “competing” alongside Haas .

“By competing alongside MoneyGram Haas F1 Team at the pinnacle of motorsports, we aim to cultivate drivers, engineers, and mechanics,” Takahashi said, “while strengthening the capabilities of MoneyGram Haas F1 Team and Toyota Gazoo Racing, and we desire to contribute to motorsports and the automotive industry.”

While the F1 team will benefit from Toyota’s expertise and resources in the form of design, technical, and manufacturing services, Toyota in turn will expand its knowledge in a “variety of areas”.

Specifically, the agreement means Toyota Gazoo Racing training drivers, engineers, and mechanics will participate in Haas test drives.

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This will enable the drivers to gain driving experience in Formula 1 while also allowing the engineers and mechanics to learn from Haas how to analyse data in what Toyota called the ‘pipeline’.

That, explained TGR, is the ‘know-how and infrastructure for multi-point sharing of vast amounts of data, such as ongoing-race driving data, immediately analysing such data, and promptly utilising it in strategic planning for the race at hand’.

The new agreement, which will be in place from the United States Grand Prix onwards, includes TGR engineers and mechanics getting involved in Haas’ aerodynamics development by designing and manufacturing carbon fiber parts in simulated extreme operational environments.

Starting at next weekend’s United States Grand Prix, Toyota Gazoo Racing will appear on the Haas VF-24s, as the partnership begins.

The Toyota deals marks the first major change in Haas’ Formula 1 set-up as the team and suggests a departure away from Dallara who have manufactured all of Haas’ Ferrari-powered F1 cars.

The team will continue as a Ferrari customer, running the Scuderia’s engines and listed parts having earlier this year renewed that until the end of 2028.

Team boss Ayao Komatsu said of the new Toyota agreement: “To have a world leader in the automotive sector support and work alongside our organisation, while seeking to develop and accelerate their own technical and engineering expertise – it’s simply a partnership with obvious benefits on both sides.

“The ability to tap into the resources and knowledge base available at Toyota Gazoo Racing, while benefiting from their technical and manufacturing processes, will be instrumental in 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 utilise and subsequently advance their in-house engineering capabilities.”

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