F1 Rumour: Toyota To Rejoin The Sport With McLaren
McLaren and Toyota's relationship seems to be evolving lately on several fronts and from the looks of it, it won't be surprising if Toyota announces an F1 comeback sometime in the future.
Just recently, McLaren stopped borrowing Toyota's wind tunnel facility since it shifted the testing program to its new in-house facility in Woking. But, rather than a distancing of the relationship with Toyota, the two brands are getting closer as they evolve.
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Just last weekend after the Japanese Grand Prix, McLaren announced the hiring of Toyota factory driver Ryo Hirakawa to its pool of reserve drivers for 2024. He is also set to join McLaren's simulator program and conduct tests in the 2021 car.
Hirakawa has not been considered a choice by any of the F1 teams but maybe, this could be Toyota's first step in a push to create stronger links with Formula 1 Grand Prix racing.
McLaren Press Image
What raises the bar of suspicion is the fact that during the same weekend, the presence of a delegation from Toyota including chairman Akio Toyoda was seen with McLaren. Thus, also fuelling the rumour that Toyota could be considering McLaren as a potential engine partner for the future.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella revealed that the association with Toyota was part of a bigger plan when asked by Motorsport.com to explain the background to Hirakawa's appointment. He revealed:
“There was the element of, having started a driver development programme, there's quite a lot of people knocking on the door.
"We actively chase talents, but we also have interest from other talents to join the programme, which is good. It shows that we have credibility from this point of view.
"So, we are certainly excited that Ryo and Toyota wanted to join the team in terms of the driver development programme.
"Then we took advantage to say well, let's add him to the pool of reserve drivers. And this is not only for the driver himself.
"We are also interested in a bit of exchange of how we deal with performance, how we deal with driver development. So, we want to sort of expand a bit our horizons.”
However, comments from Toyota Gazoo Racing advisor Kazuki Nakajima suggest that it would be too early to jump to the conclusion that Toyota was looking for a Grand Prix return. However, he is unsure of the company's decision for the distant future. He added:
“For now, it's clearly no.
"This deal is really purely focusing on a driver, supporting a driver's dream.
"At the moment, it really has nothing to do with that. I know, of course, you can think about it, and there are a lot of rumours.
"But I can clearly say that it's no, and nothing to do with it. For the future, we never know."
Considering the way Toyota has been moving forward with Gazoo Racing in recent years, I sense that they're interested in Formula 1 but, right now, they're doing the necessary homework so they can tap the right channels in the future. And, they want to do that without making much noise.