Toyota becomes Haas title sponsor for 2026

Toyota becomes Haas title sponsor for 2026

Toyota is back - or, as Eminem would put it, back again. Over the past year, the manufacturer has cautiously re-entered the Formula One world through a ‘technical partnership’ with the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team. Now, the two parties have confirmed that Toyota will serve as Haas’s title sponsor from the 2026 season, when the outfit will be renamed the TGR Haas F1 Team. TGR, naturally, stands for Toyota Gazoo Racing.

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

“Our working relationship to-date has been everything we hoped it would be. It’s been evidenced through our successful TPC (Testing of Previous Car) running this season but there’s been so much more going on behind the scenes too – including the development and installation of the simulator at our Banbury facility for 2026.

“The cultivation of personnel, all working collaboratively between Haas F1 Team and TGR, has benefited us greatly and that’s something that will only increase as our partnership matures. We’re excited to further grow with the likes of our driver program too, and it’s been encouraging to see the depth of talent TGR is backing in that process.”

TGR Haas F1 Team driver development programme

Toyota has several Japanese drivers under contract, and they have tested the older Haas VF-23 over the past year. The sessions formed what Haas describes as its first “fully-fledged TPC programme”, with Ryō Hirakawa, Ritomo Miyata, Sho Tsuboi and Kamui Kobayashi all participating.

There is, however, no confirmation that Toyota will influence Haas’s driver line-up. Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman are already confirmed for the 2026 season, although Japanese drivers could potentially be waiting in the wings should the current pairing find Formula One’s new regulations difficult to master. It certainly seems possible.

“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,” said Akio Toyoda when the expanded partnership was announced.

“Seeing this transformation moved me deeply. And today, I can say this with confidence, Toyota has finally begun to move – really move. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Gene Haas and Ayao Komatsu for standing alongside our young members, believing in their potential, and facing the future with the same passion and perspective.

“By taking our partnership with Haas another step forward next year, TGR’s ‘People, Product, Pipeline’ mantra will accelerate in a way we have never seen before. The time has come for the next generation to take their first steps toward the world stage.”

New TGR Haas F1 Team livery date

The TGR Haas F1 Team will reveal its new livery on 23 January, ahead of private testing in Barcelona a few days afterwards.