In 2009, Toyota bid farewell to System 1 after eight seasons within the championship, leaving a major mark as a neighborhood workforce and engine provider.
Throughout its time in F1, the Japanese model achieved 13 podium finishes and secured fourth place within the Constructors’ Championship, making it some of the aggressive groups on the grid. Though its final participation was in 2009, Toyota has at all times maintained its ties to motorsport, and now, 15 years later, it returns to the large stage.
This comeback materializes by means of Haas, with a multi-year contract that takes impact instantly. The Japanese model is just not returning as a workforce however as a strategic accomplice, providing technical assist and improvement to the American outfit.
Toyota goals to “Anglicize” Haas to interrupt free from Ferrari within the F1 World Championship
Toyota has determined to not return as an official workforce to System 1, however its alliance with Haas represents an necessary step in its technique to stay influential within the sport.
By its Toyota Gazoo Racing division, the Japanese model will present technical assist, improvement, and manufacturing, considerably enhancing the efficiency of the American workforce. This assist will allow Haas to enhance its potential on the grid whereas permitting Toyota to stay actively concerned within the evolution of F1 with out taking up the dangers of being an official workforce.
Regardless of not returning as a workforce, Toyota ensures its presence in discussions relating to the brand new engine rules for 2026. The model may also have a say in driver choice, opening the door to the opportunity of a Japanese driver becoming a member of Haas.
Such a technical affect might be important through the transitional part System 1 will expertise with new modifications to energy items and rules, permitting Toyota to have a direct presence in future decision-making.
The settlement with Haas may additionally result in a major shift within the workforce’s construction. With Toyota’s backing, Haas may start to distance itself from its relationship with Ferrari and shift its improvement focus to England.
This transfer would grant them entry to superior assets, akin to Toyota’s wind tunnel in Cologne and a brand new state-of-the-art simulator—key instruments to boost their competitiveness sooner or later. Whereas Toyota buying Haas is just not a direct possibility, the technical assist Toyota will present marks a brand new chapter in its relationship with the American workforce.
Toyota’s cautious strategy highlights its technique of partaking with System 1 not directly but meaningfully. Appearing as a technical accomplice as a substitute of a full-fledged constructor permits the model to affect F1’s improvement with out the commitments a full return would entail.
With the introduction of latest technical rules post-2026, this alliance may show essential for Toyota’s future in F1, probably enabling a way more lively position in the event that they determine to take the step of buying the American workforce.