The Haas Formula 1 team has confirmed that it will partner with rally and endurance racing powerhouse Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe under a multi-year technical partnership.
The long-rumoured agreement will see Haas utilise some of Toyota’s engineering facilities at it European motorsport base in Cologne. Toyota runs its FIA World Endurance Championship LMH and FIA World Rally Championship Rally1 programmes from the site, as well as manufacturing and testing parts.
For Haas, the Japanese manufacturer will provide design, technical and manufacturing services. The F1 team’s announcement of the tie-up said that it would also ‘offer technical expertise and commercial benefits’ in return.
Toyota hopes the agreement will open a pathway for its young engineers and drivers to access F1. Toyota Gazoo Racing engineers and mechanics will take part in the team’s aerodynamic testing work. They will also help to design and manufacture carbon fibre parts.
Haas is a multinational F1 operation, with facilities in Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. Its Italian design office in Maranello is tied to its status as a Ferrari power unit customer; Haas has also been conducting aerodynamic work from the site. Its Banbury base in the UK houses its operational functions, such as vehicle performance management, control systems work, logistics and race support. Kannapolis in North Carolina is home to the team’s marketing, accounting and administration activities.
‘I’m hugely excited that Haas F1 Team and Toyota Gazoo Racing have come together to enter into this technical partnership,’ said Haas F1 team principal Ayao Komatsu. ‘To have a world leader in the automotive sector support and work alongside our organisation, 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 utilise and subsequently advance their in-house engineering capabilities.’
Toyota ran a works F1 team from Cologne from 2002 to 2009. It…
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