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.
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