Racing Line F1 Simulation in Downtown Columbus: Watch Video
Columbus Dispatch reporter Emma Wozniak gets behind the wheel of a Formula 1 race car at the Racing Line simulation venue in downtown Columbus.
Toyota Gazoo Racing, the Japanese automaker’s motorsport division, will be title sponsor of the Haas F1 Team next season in a deal that strengthens an existing technical partnership.
The US-owned team, which uses Ferrari engines and has close ties to Maranello, has announced it will be rebranded as TGR Haas F1 from 2026.
“Our partnership so far has been everything we hoped for,” said Ayao Komatsu, Haas’ Japanese principal.
“The development of talent working collaboratively between Haas F1 Team and TGR has benefited us tremendously, and will continue to grow even more as our partnership matures.”
Haas are the least of the 11 teams on the starting grid for next season, and sit eighth in the standings ahead of this weekend’s final race of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Last October, it announced a multi-year technology partnership with Toyota, which saw Japan’s largest automaker return to Grand Prix racing for the first time since 2009.
Toyota provides design, technology and manufacturing services and has used this partnership to develop young drivers, engineers and mechanics through previous testing automotive programs.
“Through the challenges of the 2025 season, we have seen TGR’s young drivers and engineers believe in their own potential and begin to set their sights on even bigger dreams,” Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda said in a statement.
“The time has come for the next generation to take their first steps onto the world stage. Together with Gene Haas, Ayao and the entire TGR Haas F1 Team, we will build a culture and team for the future. Toyota is now on the move.”
The team will reveal its 2026 livery online on January 23rd, ahead of the first test behind closed doors at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya from January 26th to 30th.
Report by Alan Baldwin. Editing: Michael Perry
