Haas F1 Team and Toyota's performance department Gazoo Racing have started a technical collaboration, the partners announced Friday morning Danish time.
Toyota is making a comeback in Formula 1 after the Japanese left the sport in 2009. A technical partnership has been entered into with Haas F1.
The partners confirm this in a press release Friday morning Danish time.
However, the new collaboration does not mean more than that Haas will continue to buy as much as possible from Ferrari – including engine – every year.
Instead, Haas' new partnership with Toyota is about the development and exchange of technical know-how, engineers, young drivers and production. This gives Haas access to the wind tunnel that Toyota has kept in Germany, even though the factory actually left Formula 1 many years ago.
– Having a world leader in the automotive industry to support and work with our organization as they seek to develop and accelerate their own technical and engineering expertise; it is simply a partnership with obvious benefits for both parties, says Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu.
With the new agreement with Haas, the door is even more tight for Toyota, if the Japanese decide that they want to return to Formula 1 even more.
– By competing alongside the Moneygram Haas F1 Team at the highest level of motorsport, we aim to develop drivers, engineers and mechanics, says Tomoya Takahashi, president of Gazoo Racing Company.
Toyota never won anything in Formula 1, as the factory completed 139 laps in the series. Best result was a 4th place in the Constructors' Championship in the 2005 season.