by Alex Johnston
Too many T’s? Tough. Today, Toyota have tied up a Technical Agreement with Haas that’ll see the F1 team “share expertise and knowledge as well as resources”.
📸 Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu(left) with the Toyota delegation.
This move marks the end of a 15 year spell away from F1 for the Japanese manufacturer after they departed the series at the end of 2009.
For certain ages of fans, the red and white coloured team probably isn’t that memorable but they mustered up their fair share of moments in F1, and provided engines to not only themselves but to Jordan, Midland, Spyker and Williams between 2005 and 2009.
📸 A Toyota powered Williams.
The team entered 140 races between 2002 and 2009, taking a respectable 17 podiums and three pole positions in that time, and provided seats in F1 for recognised names like Ralf Schumacher, Jarno Trulli, Timo Glock and more.
📸 Ralf Schumacher podiums, Trulli trains and “is that Glock!?”, Toyota have more than played their part in F1 history.
The team drew a lot of pressure and criticism for their lack of success, failing to win a race in their F1 spell despite being the worlds biggest car manufacturer and being well funded, albeit with some strong results, it was never considered consistent enough.
Toyota departed F1 at the end of 2009 and to this day remains the last team to form a full factory team from nothing.
📸 The Toyota TF110, with Kazuki Nakajima, was built for 2010 but never raced in F1 - despite purchase attempts made by Stefan GP, Hispania Racing for the 2010 season and Durango for 2011.
Their tie up with Haas opens the door to them becoming an engine supplier again but whether they do or not remains to be seen.
One person with a particular interest in this agreement will be Ritomo Miyata, the Toyota backed Formula 2 driver; I, for one, would not be surprised to see the 2023 Super Formula Champion become the reserve driver for Haas in 2025 and beyond.
📸 F2’s Miyata will surely be closely monitored by Toyota as a possible driver for the Haas team in future.
📸 Image credits: Formula Motorsport Limited, MoneyGram Haas F1 Team, Toyota Gazoo Racing, BBC Sport.
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