Sho Tsuboi's Haas F1 test is an 'audition', says Toyota
The Japanese marque's director of global motorsport Masaya Kaji characterised the TPC test, which will take place on 6-7 August with the two-year-old Haas VF-23, as an 'audition' that will be used to gauge Tsuboi's future potential.
Tsuboi will be in action on the second day of the test at Toyota's home circuit, while Haas reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa will take the wheel on the opening day.
'What comes next totally depends on Tsuboi's performance and on his communication with the team,' Kaji told Motorsport.com.
'This is a kind of audition, or selection. It's not just for his experience. We would like to assess his real level of performance.
'He must make a big effort especially to communicate in English. But the main target is to understand his potential.
'Currently his performance is the best among the Japanese drivers, so it's quite interesting for us, also for the other drivers in Japan and motorsport fans.'
Ryo Hirakawa, Haas F1
Kaji described ex-Super Formula racer Hirakawa, who has made two FP1 outings for Haas so far this year and another for Alpine, as a 'good benchmark' for Tsuboi.
He did however concede that differing conditions between the two days would make direct comparisons in terms of lap times during the test difficult.
Tsuboi becomes the latest Toyota-affiliated driver to get behind the wheel of the VF-23 in Haas's newly-established TPC programme this year following Ritomo Miyata, his predecessor as Super Formula champion, and Kamui Kobayashi.
Formula 2 racer Miyata sampled the Haas at Jerez in January, while ex-Sauber and Caterham F1 driver Kobayashi drove the VF-23 in June at Paul Ricard in a run aimed at enabling him to better coach Toyota's stable of youngsters in future.
Kaji wouldn't be drawn on who could be next in line for an F1 test from Toyota's domestic roster, but stressed that results in Super Formula will not be the decisive factor.
'To be honest, we don't have any clear boundaries,' Kaji continued. 'Tsuboi has very good potential, so it's not only about his results. The test is not a reward for becoming Super Formula champion.
Ritomo Miyata, VANTELIN TEAM TOM'S
'We will not have the same situation for other drivers [in future] who become champion. It is purely based on performance.'
Following his run for Haas in January, Miyata has also driven in TPC tests for Alpine, firstly at Zandvoort and then at Monza.
Those opportunities came despite Miyata struggling for performance in his second season of F2 with ART Grand Prix, although he achieved a season-best result of second in wet conditions at Spa, having qualified in the same position.
'At the moment, we want to give him as much experience as we can," said Kaji of Miyata. "It's important to give him the environment where he can focus on driving, regardless of the team or the car.'
To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Toyota cuts full-year operating profit estimate by 16%
TOKYO (Reuters) -Toyota Motor cut its full-year operating profit forecast by 16% on Thursday as an appreciating yen and higher U.S. import tariffs weighed on its financial results. The world's biggest automaker cut its full-year operating profit forecast to 3.2 trillion yen ($21.7 billion), down from a previous outlook of 3.8 trillion yen, on the heavy fallout from the tariffs, higher material prices and currency fluctuations. Toyota said it expects the U.S. levies to reduce its profit by 1.4 trillion yen for the entire fiscal year. It had previously estimated a hit of 180 billion yen for April and May, but it had not issued a full-year projection until now. For the April to June first quarter, Toyota reported an operating profit of 1.17 trillion yen, down from 1.31 trillion yen a year earlier, but above the 902 billion yen average of seven analyst estimates compiled by LSEG. ($1 = 147.2300 yen)
CNBC
5 minutes ago
- CNBC
Toyota Motor June-quarter profit beats estimates — but drops 11% as U.S. tariffs bite
Toyota Motor on Thursday reported higher-than-expected operating profit for the June-quarter, even as the world's largest auto company by sales volumes grapples with U.S. tariffs. Here are Toyota's results compared with the mean estimates from LSEG: Operating profit for the quarter, however, dropped 11% year on year. This Toyota's Toyota's third consecutive quarterly decline in operating profit. Net income attributable to the company fell 37% to 841.3 billion yen. Toyota has seen strong global demand. Last week the automaker reported record worldwide sales in the first half of the year. Japanese carmakers have been cutting prices to retain market share in the U.S. after President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on imported vehicles came into effect in April. In June, the value of Japan car exports to the U.S. fell 25.3% year over year, even though car export volumes to the U.S. rose by 4.6% in the same period, according to data from Japan's trade ministry. Trump, however, announced a new trade deal with Tokyo last month with tariffs expected to fall to 15%, though the timeframe for the change remains unclear. Auto exports to the U.S. are a cornerstone of Japan's economy, making up about 24% of its global auto shipments in 2024, Japan's customs data showed.
Bloomberg
5 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Subaru Shares Jump on Upbeat Profit Forecast, Share Buyback
Subaru Corp. shares rose in Tokyo trading after the automaker issued an annual profit forecast that beat estimates, after having initially withheld guidance because of uncertainty surrounding the size and timing of President Donald Trump's tariffs. Subaru now sees operating income of ¥200 billion ($1.4 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 2026, it said Thursday — topping analyst estimates for ¥133 billion. Profit in the three months ended June 30 was ¥76 billion, down 16% from a year earlier.
