--- title: "McLaren F1 Team Signs Le Mans-Winning Toyota Driver, Fueling Collab Rumors" description: "Toyota's Ryo Hirakawa will join McLaren's F1 team in a reserve capacity, leading to wild rumors of an engine deal—or a full Toyota comeback." date: "2023-09-29" modified: "2023-09-29" authors: - name: "James Gilboy" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/mclaren-f1-team-signs-le-mans-winning-toyota-driver-fueling-collab-rumors" categories: - "F1" - "McLaren News" - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Racing" - "Toyota News" tags: - "mclaren" - "race car" - "Toyota" --- # McLaren F1 Team Signs Le Mans-Winning Toyota Driver, Fueling Collab Rumors ![2023 McLaren MCL60 F1 car]() *\McLaren\* At last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, [McLaren]() announced it had signed [24 Hours of Le Mans-winning Toyota factory driver Ryo Hirakawa]() to a development role. This ties McLaren and [Toyota]() closer together than ever, and has ignited rumors of a potential [Formula 1]() comeback for the automotive giant. Those rumors by all accounts look like wishful thinking, though a Toyota advisor reportedly couldn't rule out the possibility of further escalation. McLaren and Toyota have a longstanding relationship, with the former arranging to use the latter's world-class wind tunnel in Cologne. While McLaren opened its own wind tunnel in its home of Woking over the summer, ceasing the need for Toyota's facility, the two are actually growing closer together according to [*Motorsport.com*](). Instead of splitting, they're now partnering to advance Hirakawa's career. ![2023 McLaren MCL60s racing at the Japanese Grand Prix]() *2023 McLaren MCL60s racing at the Japanese Grand Prix. *McLaren** Hirakawa is best known for winning the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans and World Endurance Championship, as well as the 2017 [Super GT]() GT500 championship and placing second in the 2020 [Super Formula]() season. At 29 years old, he's not of the age typically associated with drivers in the running for an F1 seat, but next year, he'll still reportedly get a chance at McLaren's simulator. He will also get a test in McLaren's 2021 car, though the timeframe for that wasn't specified. Both are opportunities rarely given to anyone other than drivers that F1 teams hope will be worthy of racing Grands Prix in their name. That's part of why initial reaction to this news—broken over a [Japanese Grand Prix]() weekend attended by [Toyota]() chairman [Akio Toyoda]() and a company entourage—has been interpreted as evidence of Toyota starting back on the road to F1. Toyota famously flopped when it participated in F1 in a factory capacity from 2002 to 2009, fielding a well-funded team that failed to score a win despite several P2 finishes. ([Lando Norris knows the feeling.]()) With [F1's profile elevated in recent years](), a full-fledged return as an engine supplier or even as a team may be on Toyota's radar. But that's almost certainly not what's going on with the Hirakawa driver deal—not according to [McLaren]() team principal Andrea Stella, anyway, and there's almost no higher authority than he. "There was the element of, having started a driver development program, there's quite a lot of people knocking on the door," Stella told *Motorsport.com*. "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." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT69IMepl34 So, more of a strategic exchange—political marriage, tit for tat—than paving a road for a Toyota return to F1. That's still not something that Toyota Gazoo Racing advisor and former [Williams F1]() driver Kazuki Nakajima could outright shoot down, though. "For now, it's clearly no," Nakajima said regarding a Toyota F1 return. "This deal is really purely focusing on a driver, supporting a driver's dream. \[...\] I know, of course, you can think about it, and there are a lot of rumors. But I can clearly say that it's no, and nothing to do with it. For the future, we never know." "We never know" does the heavy lifting here; [news of earnest F1 programs often leaks early in the process](), and no such leak has emerged. But should it happen anyway, it'd be Toyota's chance to clear its name of its last, more fruitless bid for Grand Prix glory. *Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com* ## Author James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids." ### Author social links [Instagram]()