Just before the 2024 United States Grand Prix, Haas F1 announced that it had signed a landmark technical partnership with Japanese manufacturer Toyota.

The tie-up has been extremely critical for Haas, which has long been one of the under-resourced teams on the Formula 1 grid. But Toyota’s support in arranging Haas‘ first-ever Testing of Previous Cars program is a major sign that the automaker is taking the team to a new level of performance.

Toyota Gazoo Racing brings Haas F1 the boost it needs

Of all the Formula 1 teams on the 2025 grid, Haas F1 is one of the smallest.

While major frontrunning teams like Mercedes may have in excess of 1,000 employees on staff, Haas has often operated with a mere fraction of that amount, with sources indicating that the full staff sits somewhere around 250 employees.

That’s because Haas’ goals as a team are dramatically different than those of Mercedes. CEO and founder Gene Haas is looking to utilize Formula 1 as a marketing platform for his Haas Automation CNC machines — meaning that there’s been less of an emphasis on technical innovation and more of an emphasis on competition.

That’s in contrast to a marque like Mercedes, which utilizes F1 as a way to continue pushing the boundaries of innovation, thereby attracting prospective buyers for its consumer cars.

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While Haas’ approach has been enough to see it finish as high as fifth in the World Constructors’ Standings, the increasing demands of this new ground effect era have proven challenging for teams with limited resources.

Enter: Toyota.

Toyota is the biggest automotive company in the world by multiple metrics, including global market share and production. Its competitive arm, Toyota Gazoo Racing, represents the pinnacle of engineering in both the World Endurance Championship and the World Rally Championship.

In October of 2024, Toyota Gazoo Racing announced a technical partnership with the Haas F1 team designed to take the American outfit to the next level — and we’re already starting to see the rewards.

When making the partnership announcement, Haas F1 team principal Ayao Komatsu admitted that Haas is ” lacking certain resources and hardware capabilities to understand certain things” — meaning, in effect, that the team has fewer resources at hand to improve its cars when compared to the competition.

With a massive engineering facility in Cologne, Germany and decades of know-how in the art of designing race cars, Toyota would be just such a factor.

“They are looking for the latest F1 know-how and skillset, which we have, but we don’t have their facilities, the number of people and their resource,” Komatsu said at the time of the partnership announcement. “So, that’s how we are tapping into each other’s expertise.”

Now, we’re seeing that in action. Haas has announced that it will be hosting an outing at Fuji Speedway as part of the team’s Testing Previous Cars (TPC) program. The TPC creates regulations around the ways that F1 teams can utilize old machinery for testing and research purposes — and it’s something that Haas has never before taken advantage of.

Why? Hosting a private test session is a resource-heavy affair. Between track facility rental, travel costs, personnel requirements, and so much more, Haas has simply never previously had the ability to consider putting together a TPC program.

But with the help of Toyota, the team will have the opportunity to turn laps in its 2023 race car, the VF-23. Reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa will climb behind the wheel alongside fellow Japanese star Sho Tsuboi, who is the reigning Super Formula champion and who also has a Super GT championship to his name.

Toyota is clearly involved in selecting the drivers to complete the program — but it’s all part of the outfit’s attempt to improve three key pillars in the team: People, operations, and product.

Masaya Kaji, director of TGR Global Motorsport, said of the upcoming Fuji test, ” These TPC tests are part of our people efforts, as we will focus on human resource development.

“I believe that Sho [Tsuboi], a former Super Formula champion, will not only contribute to the development of his skills, but will also provide great motivation for the other TGR drivers.

“In addition, mechanics and engineers from Toyota Motor Corporation will be present, making this an invaluable opportunity for them as well . Experiencing first-hand the technologies and skills required on the world’s highest stage, F1, will certainly be an important experience for their growth.”

Andrea de Zordo, Haas technical director, shared a similar explanation for the test during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, as reported by Autoracer.

“The relationship with Toyota currently focuses mainly on TPC testing and the development of our own simulator,” de Zordo explained. “We don’t have one at the moment, and it will be important for us in preparing for the races.

“Arriving with good preparation on the simulator would allow us to start the weekends better and get better use of the driver.”

Simulators and TPC programs are massively important elements of any Formula 1 team’s development, but they’ve long been the remit of major players like Red Bull, Ferrari, or Mercedes. With Toyota opening those doors to Haas, it’s clear the American team is looking for ways to ascend to the next level of competition.

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