Overview

• Sho Tsuboi took the wheel of Haas’s VF-23 in a two-day Testing of Previous Cars outing at Fuji Speedway, marking his first experience in a Formula 1 car.
• Toyota Gazoo Racing’s global motorsport director Masaya Kaji insisted the session was an audition to evaluate Tsuboi’s on-track performance rather than a reward for his Super Formula title.
• Kaji emphasised that Tsuboi must excel in driving metrics and English-language communication with engineers to advance his F1 prospects.
• Haas and Toyota launched the public TPC programme in July to assess Japanese drivers such as Ryo Hirakawa, Ritomo Miyata and Kamui Kobayashi and train Toyota mechanics.
• Outcomes from the Fuji test will inform whether Tsuboi secures further F1 opportunities under the Haas-Toyota technical partnership that began in late 2024.