Haas and Toyota collaboration in the making? Here's what's going on
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- Ludo van Denderen
Every once in a while, the story surfaces: 'Toyota plans to return to Formula 1'. As Toyota's World Endurance Championship team prepares to race in Brazil this weekend, the rumours are there again. Indeed, according to media reports, Toyota has held talks to team up with Haas F1, and be active together in Formula 1 from '26. But what is really going on?
Although Toyota is a Japanese manufacturer, its racing activities are mainly based in Cologne, Germany. That is where the factory has been for decades, in the past also the base of Toyota's defunct Formula 1 team. Until last year, McLaren used Toyota's wind tunnel, but that has come to an end since the British opened a modern wind tunnel in Woking.
However, Andretti Global, for example, can be found regularly in Cologne. The Americans are not (yet) admitted to Formula 1, but are currently building their own F1 car anyway. This mainly gathers knowledge, which can be used for when Andretti does gain access to the F1 grid. In Cologne, Andretti uses part of the Toyota facilities.
Deal imminent between Haas and Toyota?
The Haas F1 team is also interested in using the Japanese manufacturer's facilities. There have been (exploratory) talks on this between Toyota and Haas F1. This is not to say that Toyota itself will actually participate in the design and construction of Haas F1 team's cars. However, letting the Americans use the facilities would be a new form of revenue collection, as that is precisely where Toyota partly earns its living.
A few weeks ago, GPblog spoke with Rob Leupen, Managing Director of Toyota Racing, about a possible return of the Japanese marque to Formula 1. The Dutchman commented, "What did Formula 1 bring Toyota at the time, apart from a nice factory? A lot of money went through to make Toyota's name better known. I think in WEC we can show more what Toyota does, what the brand stands for."
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