F1 fans based in Japan will have the opportunity to watch an official Haas test for the equivalent of just £6, with the American constructor heading to the Fuji International Speedway for the latest outing in collaboration with Toyota GAZOO Racing. The first leg of the two-day test took place on Wednesday, August 6, with Haas reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa stepping behind the wheel of the VF-23, the team’s 2023 challenger, at the iconic Fuji circuit, where F1 last raced in 2008.

Then, on Thursday, reigning Super Formula champion and three-time Super GT GT500 champion Sho Tsuboi will pilot F1 equipment for the first time. According to Masaya Kaji, Toyota’s director of global motorsport, the 30-year-old’s drive will effectively be an audition for his future F1 prospects.

“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.”

Tsuboi isn’t the only driver to gain experience through Haas’ partnership with Toyota, which was announced early in 2024. Kamui Kobayashi, a mainstay of the F1 midfield in the early 2010s, made a surprise return to the cockpit earlier this year, while Formula Two starlet Ritomo Miyata has also piloted the team’s machinery.

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However, according to Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu, the Fuji test could help bring new Japanese fans into motorsport. “In Japan, F1 is regaining popularity [but] if you look at sports news, baseball is there, football is there, F1 is still very minor,” he explained. “That wasn’t the case 30 years ago.

“I think it’s a really good opportunity, just taking advantage of this partnership, and put that test out there. And then we just said to the Fuji circuit, just open it, and then entry price as low as possible. So it’s only like £6, £7 to enter for general public. Then anyone below, I think 14 or 16, is going to be free, all the kids are to be free, etc.

“I just wanted to make it more available to people. The Japanese Grand Prix any Grand Prix has quite a high hurdle [for fans] to actually buy the ticket and commit to going. So unless you are really into it, you’re not going to make that commitment. But, testing, hopefully it’s a much more easier one to get into it.”