Toyota provide huge F1 comeback hint with return under consideration<\/a><\/p>\nWhile Haas\u2019 approach has been enough to see it finish as high as fifth in the World Constructors\u2019 Standings, the increasing demands of this new ground effect era have proven challenging for teams with limited resources.<\/p>\n
Enter: Toyota.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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 \u2014 and we\u2019re already starting to see the rewards.<\/p>\n
When making the partnership announcement, Haas F1 team principal Ayao Komatsu admitted that Haas is \u201d lacking certain resources and hardware capabilities to understand certain things\u201d \u2014 meaning, in effect, that the team has fewer resources at hand to improve its cars when compared to the competition.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are looking for the latest F1 know-how and skillset, which we have, but we don\u2019t have their facilities, the number of people and their resource,\u201d Komatsu said at the time of the partnership announcement. \u201cSo, that\u2019s how we are tapping into each other\u2019s expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, we\u2019re seeing that in action. Haas has announced that it will be hosting an outing at Fuji Speedway as part of the team\u2019s Testing Previous Cars (TPC) program. The TPC creates regulations around the ways that F1 teams can utilize old machinery for testing and research purposes \u2014 and it\u2019s something that Haas has never before taken advantage of.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Toyota is clearly involved in selecting the drivers to complete the program \u2014 but it\u2019s all part of the outfit\u2019s attempt to improve three key pillars in the team: People, operations, and product.<\/p>\n
Masaya Kaji, director of TGR Global Motorsport, said of the upcoming Fuji test, \u201d These TPC tests are part of our people efforts, as we will focus on human resource development.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 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\u2019s highest stage, F1, will certainly be an important experience for their growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrea de Zordo, Haas technical director, shared a similar explanation for the test during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, as reported by Autoracer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe relationship with Toyota currently focuses mainly on TPC testing and the development of our own simulator,\u201d de Zordo explained. \u201cWe don\u2019t have one at the moment, and it will be important for us in preparing for the races.<\/p>\n
\u201cArriving with good preparation on the simulator would allow us to start the weekends better and get better use of the driver.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simulators and TPC programs are massively important elements of any Formula 1 team\u2019s development, but they\u2019ve long been the remit of major players like Red Bull, Ferrari, or Mercedes. With Toyota opening those doors to Haas, it\u2019s clear the American team is looking for ways to ascend to the next level of competition.<\/p>\n
Read next:\u00a0Ferrari plotting bonus SF-25 upgrade after Hamilton and Leclerc complaint emerges \u2013 report<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Just before the 2024 United States Grand Prix, Haas F1 announced that it had signed a landmark technical…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,3874,813,816,5328,818,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-3699","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-f1","11":"tag-f1-features","12":"tag-formula-1","13":"tag-formula1","14":"tag-haas","15":"tag-home-page","16":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}