Toyota brand returns to F1 as Haas title sponsor
No longer just a technical partner; from next year it'll be the Toyota Gazoo Racing Haas F1 Team
A busy week for the folk of Toyota Gazoo Racing; we’re hours away from the reveal of its new supercars, but there’s also news from the actual motorsport side as well. Having occupied a role as the Haas F1 technical partner after signing a multi-year deal last October, Gazoo Racing will now be the title partner of the American outfit. So for 2026 and the new season of regulations, the grid will have two spots for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Haas F1 Team. Which has quite a nice ring to it.
The new deal is more than just prominence in the name, too. For the 2025 season, GR’s involvement saw the introduction of a Testing of Previous Car (TPC) program, where budding Japanese drivers (and Kamui Kobayashi) could drive the Haas VF-23 on a variety of tracks around the globe. As part of the 2026 arrangement, this is being upgraded to a ‘TGR Haas Driver Development Program.’ With Yuki Tsunoda already dropped from his Red Bull seat for next year, there won’t be a Japanese driver on the grid, and prior to his arrival, Kobayashi was the last. So clearly there is a desire to foster some homegrown talent for the TGR team.
Akio Toyoda said of the Driver Development Program: “Throughout our challenges in the 2025 season, I witnessed young TGR drivers and engineers begin to believe in their own potential and set their sights on even greater dreams. Seeing this transformation moved me deeply. And today, I can say this with confidence, Toyota has finally begun to move – really move. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Gene Haas and Ayao Komatsu for standing alongside our young members, believing in their potential, and facing the future with the same passion and perspective.”
The next step is the livery reveal of the TGR Haas F1 VF-26 on January 23rd, right before heading to Catalunya for testing. Then it’ll be to Bahrain for more shakedown in February, ahead of the Melbourne season opener in March. Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu added: Our working relationship to-date has been everything we hoped it would be. It’s been evidenced through our successful TPC running this season but there’s been so much more going on behind the scenes too – including the development and installation of the simulator at our Banbury facility for 2026. The cultivation of personnel, all working collaboratively between Haas F1 Team and TGR, has benefited us greatly and that’s something that will only increase as our partnership matures. We’re excited to further grow with the likes of our driver program too, and it’s been encouraging to see the depth of talent TGR is backing in that process.”
Maybe the abilities of HAAS in still delivering machines and parts into Russia these days match Toyotas ability to built Ferrari parts very much north of Modena. Which matches the ability of all the UBER drivers keeping their leased Suzuki Swage / Toyota Corolla Wagons running via 3rd party parts, that might have been made very much west of Japan.
May the race to 2026 begin and the cheapest buck win!
Here’s a link for anyone else who’s curious.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Haas#Criminal_t...
Looks like he served 16 months of a 2 year sentence for tax fraud.
I really think this is the beginning of Toyota slowly returning to F1 via the back door.
It helps that the current Chairman of Toyota, Akio Toyoda is a petrolhead and keen amateur racing driver himself who races under a pseudonym, Morizo Kinosh ita.
He was also the one who pushed for the Toyota GR Yaris project and was a test driver for the prototypes. He has driven the Lexus LF-A in the Nürburgring 24 hours a few times as well.
Unless of course it s part of a lengthy due-diligence / pre-purchase inspection process, before Toyota buys the team outright?
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