Toyota is making a surprising return to Formula 1 after a 15-year absence, but don’t expect the iconic Japanese manufacturer to bring back its works team. Instead, Toyota is stepping in as a “technical partner” for American team Haas, bringing some serious expertise to the grid.
Starting at next week’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, expect to see Toyota branding on the Haas cars. Toyota’s racing division will be providing “design, technical, and manufacturing services” to the North Carolina-based squad, giving Haas some much-needed backup.
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While fans may be thrilled by the return of Toyota to F1, it’s important to note that this isn’t the same Toyota works team that raced from 2002 to 2009. Instead, this new partnership is more of a behind-the-scenes alliance to boost Haas’s performance.
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Speaking on Friday, Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda reflected on the company’s F1 exit all those years ago and admitted he might’ve had second thoughts. “I think that, somewhere deep in his heart, that ordinary older car-loving guy Akio Toyoda had always regretted having blocked — by pulling out of F1 — Japanese youths’ path toward driving the world’s fastest cars,” he said.
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But Toyoda made it clear that, despite the personal regrets, he still believes pulling Toyota from F1 back in 2009 was the right move. “That said, with the media watching my every step, I dare to add that I still believe my decision as the president of Toyota to withdraw from F1 was not wrong.”
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