Toyota increases partnership with Haas F1 team

TOKYO (AP) — The Haas Formula 1 team will get a new name next season, further showcasing its relationship with Japanese automaker Toyota.

In a statement Thursday, the team said its name in 2026 will be TGR Haas F1 Team. The TGR stands for Toyota Gazoo Racing, which is the racing division of the Toyota Motor Corporation.

Taking over the title sponsorship means Toyota is now more involved in F1 than at any time since it pulled its team out after the 2009 season.

Haas and Toyota entered into the first stages of this technical partnership a year ago and the Haas car has been carrying Toyota’s branding since.

The partnership involves design and technical services but does not include a Toyota engine. Haas will run next year with Ferrari power, but it does move the company ever deeper into Formula 1.

Toyota ran a team in F1 until the end of the 2009 season. It failed to win a race despite spending heavily.

This move does not appear to mark a return to that level of involvement.

“It’s naturally a privilege to deepen our relationship with TGR through this new title partnership agreement,” Ayao Komatsu, team principal of Haas, said in a statement from Haas.

The statement included comments from Akio Toyoda, the chairman of the Toyota Motor Corporation.

“Throughout our challenges in the 2025 season, I witnessed young TGR drivers and engineers begin to believe in their own potential and set their sights on even greater dreams,” Toyoda said. “Seeing this transformation moved me deeply. And today, I can say this with confidence — Toyota has begun to move. Really move.”

Toyoda has said previously he had second thoughts about pulling Toyota out of F1. He said part of his regret was not giving young drivers a better chance to compete in F1.

The final race of the 2025 season Sunday in Abu Dhabi has three drivers in contention for the overall title.

Lando Norris of McLaren leads by 12 points over Max Verstappen of Red Bull. Oscar Piastri of McLaren is 16 points behind. Norris and Piastri are trying for their first season titles, Verstappen is after his fifth straight.

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