Toyota back in Formula 1: This is exactly what the partnership with Haas entails

What does the collaboration between the two parties entail?
Haas and TGR have signed a new multi-year agreement, with both parties sharing expertise and knowledge, as well as resources. Toyota Gazoo Racing will provide design, engineering and manufacturing services. This means that future Haas F1 cars will be produced from a collaboration between Haas, Toyota, Ferrari and Dallara. Ferrari supply parts such as the power unit and gearbox while Dallara are the chassis manufacturers.

Why is this an exciting partnership for Haas and Toyota?
Haas is the smallest team in Formula 1 and needs help. TGR operates successfully in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the World Rally Championship (WRC) and has very good staff and facilities. They will support Haas' F1 project.

Toyota is investing heavily in simulation programmes and private testing. The latter is something Haas doesn't currently have, simply because there is no money or staff available for it. For TGR, this is precisely an interesting part of the deal, as it allows the Japanese to introduce their test drivers and engineers to Formula 1.

Moreover, TGR will ensure that Haas has access to a simulator at its factory in England. Until now, the team has been using the Ferrari simulator—although that will not be completely discarded in the future. The costs of running a Formula 1 team will be shared.

Will TGR staff be added to the Haas racing team?
Concrete plans for this are not in place. However, team boss Ayao Komatsu does say: "At the moment, there will be no race team personnel. But again, it's not because we don't want to. Whoever has got the right personnel, we will put in the race team.

"If let's say, TGR had the personnel that fits the profile, I'd have taken him or her straight away. So we're not taking any TGR personnel for the race team, but that's not because that's the philosophy. We'll take whoever is the best fit for the job."

Will Toyota also design and produce a power unit for Haas?
No, there is no question of that at the moment. Haas has an agreement with Ferrari until 2028, and Ayao Komatsu confirmed this with GPblog and others. "PU supply, gearbox supply, etc. So fundamentally, nothing's going to change as far as I'm concerned. This partnership's got nothing to do with the PU side. It's purely on the chassis side in terms of technical alliance."

Do Toyota intend to supply the chassis?
That’s an interesting point. Haas currently buys chassis, wings and similar parts from Dallara. It’s an open secret that the Italians can’t always deliver new parts quickly, which often puts Haas at a disadvantage compared to the competition. It’s easy to imagine TGR eventually taking care of that part of the car building since the design is already partly in the hands of the Japanese. Plus, a lot of money can be saved if no more parts have to be bought from Dallara.

Will Toyota Gazoo be included in the Haas team name?
That is not the intention, although Haas F1 does not rule out doing so at some point. "At the moment, no. Our title sponsor is MoneyGram," Komatsu said when asked if Toyota would be part of the team's name. "So nothing is going to change in terms of that title sponsor and the team name for the foreseeable future." But the Japanese boss then indicated that it will be revisited in the future.

Will Toyota supply drivers to Haas F1?
As already briefly touched on, that is the intention, although it does not directly involve replacements for Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman (the confirmed drivers for 2025). Drivers from TGR are, however, nominated to do test and simulator work for Haas. The future reserve driver could come from Toyota's team. Currently, they use Ferrari drivers (Bearman).

"That's definitely an open possibility. For instance, for next year's reserve driver, I haven't actually sat down with Fred [Vasseur], [to talk about] who should be a reserved driver. So we should put all the drivers who are, let's say, in consideration on the table and then discuss openly what would be the best option. Regardless of which Toyota driver or non-Toyota driver, we will always take the best driver for the sporting result."

This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton