This morning, many woke up celebrating Toyota’s return to Formula 1. But that’s not exactly the case. The Japanese company has entered into a partnership with Haas, where it will provide certain services to the American team (component construction, simulation, and other things) in exchange for know-how that will be used to build better road cars.
In the press conference held shortly after the official announcement of the partnership between Haas and Toyota, the top executives of the Japanese company were quick to clarify an important point: Toyota has no intention of returning to Formula 1, neither as a manufacturer nor as an engine supplier. It will be a partner that gives but also expects to receive.
“At the moment, we have no plans to return to Formula 1 as an engine supplier,” said Masaya Kaji, general manager of motorsport engineering at Toyota Gazoo Racing – “In fact,” he continued, delving deeper into a potential return to the top racing series, “we have no plans to have a Formula 1 team. For now, we have a better choice, and that is the option of collaborating with the Haas team.”
A very clear position from the Japanese company, which will provide services in exchange for know-how in a long-term collaboration, according to Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu.
“This is not a short-term thing. The projects we have chosen to start with were selected because it is clear what areas we are lacking in, what areas we don’t have the right capabilities for, and where Toyota has great capabilities. Obviously, we are choosing the project that has the most impact and the greatest need for development. But I believe that over the course of this partnership, we will understand each other more and more, and there will be many areas where we can work together.” – he pointed out.
While these are Haas’s intentions, Toyota’s focus seems to be more on technology, which, according to the Japanese company’s plans, would then be transferred to road cars.
“As you know, F1 cars are equipped with the most advanced technology in the world,” said Takahashi Tomoya, president of Toyota Gazoo Racing. “Aerodynamics, for example, is an extremely important technology for electric vehicles. I believe that the day will come when we can transfer the technology from single-seaters to production cars, and I believe this will lead to the creation of future vehicles. In short, we want to use what we will learn for future road cars.”
Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota, added a key part to understanding the decision made by the Japanese company: “In 2009, when we left F1, Toyota was focused more on being a bigger group, rather than making better cars.”
“As president, I decided at the time that our goals were sales and profits. So Formula 1 was not right for what we had in mind at that time. Now we are transforming into a company that thinks about making better cars, and we do this using motorsport as a foundation. To do this, we need people to take responsibility for the transition of technology.”
In short, for Toyota, motorsport is once again the foundation for making what they call “better” road cars. Haas will be the ideal platform for this goal, but it won’t mean a full commitment to Formula 1. It’s not a return, then, but a partnership that will need to bear fruit for all parties involved.
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