The Japanese auto giant will partner with Haas in a technical relationship between the two.
A multi-year agreement has been signed that will see the sharing of “expertise and knowledge” from Haas and “design, technical and manufacturing services” from Toyota.
“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,” said Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu.
“In return we offer a platform for Toyota Gazoo Racing to fully utilise and subsequently advance their in-house engineering capabilities.
“I’m naturally pleased that we’ve had the support of the likes of Formula 1 and our long-term partner, Scuderia Ferrari – who we announced our further continuation with earlier in the season, in the formation of this new technical partnership – designed to achieve continued success in our Formula 1 endeavours.”
Haas has held a complicated relationship with Ferrari during its time in F1.
While the race team itself is housed in Banbury in the United Kingdom, in the factory that once housed Manor, it has a small design office in Ferrari’s Maranello factory in Italy.
The American-registered team buys in the components it can as allowed under Formula 1’s technical regulations while designing the remainder in-house.
Manufacturing work is completed by Dallara, also in Italy.
The Toyota deal looks to complement Haas’s existing Ferrari relationship, stepping in to replace the services Dallara has thus far been offering.
Toyota has remained active in motorsport through the World Rally and World Endurance Championships.
It also has an arms-length interest in F1 through a relationship with Andretti Global which continues unaffected by the Haas deal.
Toyota ran its own factory effort in F1 from 2002 through to 2009.
“We are pleased to announce that MoneyGram Haas F1 Team and Toyota Gazoo Racing have concluded a basic agreement to enter a technical partnership such as Haas vehicle development,” said Tomoya Takahashi, president of Gazoo Racing Company.
“By competing alongside MoneyGram Haas F1 Team at the pinnacle of motorsports, we aim to cultivate drivers, engineers, and mechanics while strengthening the capabilities of MoneyGram Haas F1 Team and Toyota Gazoo Racing, and we desire to contribute to motorsports and the automotive industry.”
The relationship will begin immediately, with the Haas cars to carry Toyota Gazoo Racing branding from the United States Grand Prix next weekend.
It’s suggested that the relationship could expand in time, with Toyota taking a greater interest in the team – and potentially leading to a power unit program in years to come.
However, it’s not expected that would occur until at least after the next generation of technical regulations, which will be introduced from 2026.
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