There’s been a lot of banter about new manufacturers entering Formula 1 in recent years. There was plenty of speculation around Audi, which we now know is confirmed, and Cadillac, too, is angling to get in. What nobody expected was another entry from Japan, but now we’re learning that Toyota is diving straight back into the Formula 1 circus.
Formula 1 has always been a brutal playground for automakers looking for fame and glory. Some have seen great success—Ferrari, Mercedes, and Honda. Others have faltered. Toyota, indeed, is one of them. The company formerly spent eight long seasons in the sport, from 2002 to 2009, as a chassis and engine manufacturer. Despite tasing points in its first-ever race, the team never went on to great success, scoring zero wins during its tenure.
This time, things will be different. Toyota won’t be doing everything all by itself. Instead, it’s teaming up as a partner with the existing Haas F1 team.
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As you might expect, the partnership is officially between Haas and motorsports division Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR). Basically, Toyota will be lending its abilities and facilities in design, aerodynamic analysis, and manufacturing, to support the Haas F1 effort. Amusingly, Haas already has a level of technical partnership with Ferrari, which supplies its engines, so it’s ultimately getting in bed with two very different automakers.
Toyota obviously won’t be getting involved to the level of makes like Mercedes or Ferrari. These automakers run full F1 teams from top to bottom, including their own engine programs, chassis development, and all associated components. Down from there, you have Honda, which solely supplies engines to other teams, and Renault/Alpine, which will soon be a factory-backed chassis builder running on Mercedes customer engines.
Toyota is a level below this, where it will be contributing technical resources without directly taking responsibility for the car or engine as a whole. It’s still a step up from Infiniti, for example, which formerly contributed little more than a sticker to the Red Bull F1 cars.
On Toyota’s side, the hope is that this partnership will be a learning experience that boosts the talents of drivers, engineers, and mechanics at Toyota Gazoo Racing. TGR training drivers will reportedly participate in Haas F1 test drives, as will engineers and mechanics. As far as developing the skills of your motorsporting staff, F1 truly is a crucible of growth like no other.
It’s particularly interesting that TGR drivers will apparently get “driving experience in F1,” as per the press release. This is because F1 testing is highly restricted, and opportunities to blood younger drivers are thus very limited. Will we see some TGR drivers will participate in lower-tier tests with older Haas cars, or will a Toyota-backed driver show up in actual F1 Free Practice sessions? That remains to be seen.
While Toyota’s involvement won’t be a major one at this stage, many fans will still welcome another automaker dipping its toe into F1. What was once a staid sport has transformed in recent years into one of the hottest motorsports properties out there, and it seems everyone wants a piece. These are exciting times for fans and teams alike.
Image credits: Toyota, Haas
Partnering with Toyota in F1 is kinda like naming your team the Titanic, it’s not an automatic end-in-failure, just taking the first step on that road.
Toyota really dipping their toes back in to racing. Jumping in to V8 supercars as well is a pretty serious investment.
Good to see.
Could be wild to see where they end up in ten years. either everywhere or nowhere!
If TGR is doing manufacturing, are they parting ways with Dallara, then?
I believe it’s SOME manufacturing, certainly not all
Very cool….. worked with Toyota in CART, and at least then I liked their focus. Not as focused as Honda back then, but I liked them being involved.