Toyota is making a comeback to Formula 1 after 15 years by becoming a “technical partner” with the American racing team Haas.
Starting with the upcoming United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, the Haas cars will feature Toyota branding. The company’s racing division will offer “design, technical, and manufacturing services” to the team based in North Carolina.
However, this does not mean Toyota is returning as a full racing team like it did from 2002 to 2009.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda mentioned on Friday that he has mixed feelings about their exit from F1. He suggested he might regret that their departure blocked young Japanese fans from pursuing their dreams of driving top racing cars.
But he also stated, “with the media watching my every step, I dare to add that I still believe my decision as the president of Toyota to withdraw from F1 was not wrong.”
Haas will continue to race under its own name and Toyota will not be providing engines like they did in the past.
Haas already has a deal to use Ferrari engines through 2028, stemming from a partnership that began when they first entered F1 in 2016. In July, they extended their agreement with Ferrari to align with new F1 regulations coming in 2026.
This partnership reflects Haas’ strategy of relying on outside collaborators for much of the work that other teams typically handle internally. Since its debut in 2016, Haas has maintained a close relationship with Ferrari, even setting up its design office in Maranello, Italy, and depending on the Italian race-car builder Dallara for constructing its cars.
Haas is clear that it does not intend to replace Ferrari with Toyota. Team principal Ayao Komatsu noted that he consulted with Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur “from the very early stages of this idea of collaboration” with Toyota.
Toyota aims to train future F1 drivers, even though Haas does not have an open seat for next year.
Tomoya Takahashi, the head of Toyota’s Gazoo racing division, mentioned in a statement on Friday that Toyota wants to “cultivate drivers, engineers, and mechanics” through its partnership with Haas.
The team has already signed Ferrari reserve Oliver Bearman and experienced driver Esteban Ocon, who is currently with Alpine, for the 2025 season.
“Some might jump to the conclusion: Toyota is back in F1. But that’s not the case,” Takahashi said. “Through this partnership we believe it would be fantastic if we could develop drivers who can secure regular seats in F1 in the future.”
Currently, one Toyota driver, Ryo Hirakawa, is a reserve at McLaren this year. Komatsu stated that Toyota drivers would initially test older F1 cars at Haas. Toyota could also send engineers to help out at Haas, which has a smaller staff compared to other F1 teams.
When Toyota joined F1 in 2002, it spent a lot of money trying to create a winning team but never managed to win a race despite coming close several times.
At the end of the 2009 season, Toyota announced it was leaving F1 as part of a cost-cutting plan, even though it was almost finished designing its car for the next season.
Since then, Toyota has focused on other types of auto racing, including NASCAR, the Le Mans 24-hour race—where it competes against Ferrari—and rally racing.
The announcement about the Toyota-Haas partnership came just over a week after Toyota and two other major Japanese companies withdrew their sponsorship money from the Olympics.
