McLaren is anticipated to transition to its newly constructed wind tunnel at its Woking facility this month, marking the conclusion of a 12-year collaboration with the Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe (TGR-E) facility in Cologne.
The squad originally began using Toyota’s former F1 wind tunnel back in 2010 and it has helped in the design of every McLaren challenger since.
However, although McLaren will no longer utilize the Cologne facility due to the wind tunnel change, the Japanese manufacturer believes that this does not signify the termination of their partnership.
“I cannot reword”
“I believe that through this endeavor, we have effectively demonstrated the ability of TGR-E to contribute significant long-term benefits to high-level engineering endeavors. We eagerly anticipate the opportunity to provide assistance to forward-thinking companies such as McLaren in the coming times.”
Jenson Button, McLaren MP4-26
Photo by: Sutton Images
McLaren first began using the Cologne wind tunnel in 2010, a year after the Toyota F1 team pulled out of grand prix racing. It was first used to develop the 2011 race-winning McLaren MP4-26, and has been used all the way through to this year’s MCL60.
Over the years, the relationship between McLaren and Toyota grew significantly, extending beyond solely utilizing the wind tunnel. It now encompassed the utilization of research and development as well as production capabilities. Additionally, McLaren established dedicated workspaces within the Toyota factory, equipped with separate data systems and connections back to its Woking factory.
Both parties collaborated to ensure that the wind tunnel was continuously developed and maintained with state-of-the-art technology.
Andrea Stella, the team principal of McLaren, expressed admiration for Toyota’s valuable contribution.
“The support provided by TGR-E has been extremely valuable in contributing to our achievements,” he stated. “We have fostered a strong collaborative partnership between the McLaren team and the on-site staff at the facility, with their internal additive manufacturing capabilities and other on-site facilities playing a crucial role in the car development process.”
“As we progress towards the activation of our wind tunnel located on-site, which provides notable advantages for McLaren and corresponds with the team’s new facility, we would like to acknowledge the crucial role played by the TGR-E wind tunnel in the team’s previous advancements. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to TGR-E for their invaluable assistance during this period.”
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL60
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Leupen mentioned that Toyota was happy to have contributed to McLaren’s achievements throughout the years.
He explained that we are proud to have been involved in McLaren’s Formula 1 narrative for a significant duration.
Having built a strong bond and collaborated for a period of 12 years is indicative of the mutual admiration between our two institutions, as well as the dedication of the employees at TGR-E and McLaren in ensuring the prosperity of this partnership. We genuinely appreciate McLaren’s unwavering support throughout this duration.
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