Haas has announced a technical partnership with Toyota’s motorsport division through which it will receive design and manufacturing support for the Formula 1 team.
Toyota Gazoo Racing is the motorsport competition and research and development division of Toyota, and currently competes in the World Endurance Championship and World Rally Championship, but has not been involved in F1 since the end of the 2009 season. Toyota will become the official technical partner to Haas, with the team offering technical expertise and commercial benefits in return.
Team principal Ayao Komatsu has been working on the partnership with Toyota Gazoo Racing for a number of months and said it comes with the support of current partner Ferrari.
“I’m hugely excited that MoneyGram Haas F1 Team and Toyota Gazoo Racing have come together to enter into this technical partnership,” Komatsu said. “To have a world leader in the automotive sector support and work alongside our organization, while seeking to develop and accelerate their own technical and engineering expertise – it’s simply a partnership with obvious benefits on both sides.
“The ability to tap into the resources and knowledge base available at Toyota Gazoo Racing, while benefiting from their technical and manufacturing processes, will be instrumental in our own development and our clear desire to further increase our competitiveness in Formula 1. In return we offer a platform for Toyota Gazoo Racing to fully utilize and subsequently advance their in-house engineering capabilities.
“I’m naturally pleased that we’ve had the support of the likes of Formula 1 and our long-term partner, Scuderia Ferrari – who we announced our further continuation with earlier in the season, in the formation of this new technical partnership – designed to achieve continued success in our Formula 1 endeavors.