German Car Zone

Toyota pulling out of Formula One to cut costs


By JIM ARMSTRONG (AP) – 12 minutes ago


TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. announced Wednesday it is pulling out of Formula One racing, citing a need to cut costs and focus on its core business.
Toyota follows Honda Motor Co. as the second major Japanese automaker to withdraw from the sport. Honda pulled out last December amid worsening economic conditions. Brawn GP, which took over the old Honda team, won the 2009 F1 championship.
Toyota, the world's largest car manufacturer, expects to post an operating loss for the six months ended Sept. 30. It is due to report earnings Thursday.
The company posted its worst ever loss in the financial year at the end of March.
Like other Japanese exporters, Toyota has been hurt by a strong yen. The dollar has recently hovered around 90 yen. Akio Toyoda, grandson of the company's founder who became president this year, has vowed to avoid a third straight year of losses.
On Monday, Japanese tire manufacturer Bridgestone Corp. announced it would not renew its exclusive deal to supply tires for F1 when its contract expires in 2010.
That announcement came one day after the 2009 F1 season concluded with the Abu Dhabi GP.
In July, Toyota-owned Fuji International Speedway announced it would not host the Japanese F1 GP from 2010 and beyond amid the faltering global economy.
Fellow Japanese automakers Subaru and Suzuki pulled out of the World Rally Championship ahead of this season, citing concerns about the global economic crisis.
Toyota made its F1 debut in 2002 but has never won a grand prix. The team's best result was in 2005 when Jarno Trulli finished second in Malaysia and Bahrain.
Despite a promising start to the 2009 season, Toyota finished fifth in the constructors' standings.
Trulli and Timo Glock raced for Toyota this season. Trulli finished eighth in the driver standings and Glock was 10th.
Kamui Kobayashi filled in for an injured Glock in the last race of the season and posted a sixth-place finish at Abu Dhabi.
Toyota shares rose 1.1 percent to 3,610 yen Wednesday. Tokyo's stock trading closed before Toyota announced the withdrawal from F1.

IMO Renault will drop out as well before 2010 Season start in March.

Why do you think so?

It's fine, this development; the arrogance and greed for brand awareness has backfired on these car makers. Formula One is a team sport, not a brand sport. It's about dedicated collaboration and making the most out of a number of input variables: Engineering, team management, driver, race-day strategy, tyre supply, testing and so forth.

Brawn GP have just won the championship out of the ashes of a non-performing Honda outfit. They did this by coupling a winning chassis and engine combination with team passion, a good driver duo and race-pace know-how. Clearly, a team lead by people who know motorsport and know how to win. Ron Dennis, for all his apparent foibles is another such leader. As was Jean Todt... you get the picture.

This is a natural progression for Formula One - back to a position where it's a competitive team sport wherein the people are in it for motor racing and not some arrogant car makers' dick measuring contest.

Thats too bad, I enjoyed laughing at Toyota and their billion dollar budget with little results to show for it.
I think they should stay in and just throw about 5 billion at the team next year, maybe then they will win A race.

Sauber welcome back.

What about Mercedes? You had told us that they are in a bad financial situation and they should get out of F1...

MB's gonna stake out of Macca and buy Brawn instead, it's pretty much official by now.

Only issue is: 2012 (end of the Macca-Mercedes contract) or sooner?

F1 hasn't been a sport for a long time now - since most decisions are made behind green table, or via iffy moves (like crashing your second driver; crashing into Champion contender etc).

It's been bad soap opera ... For years.

Sure Brown won this year - due having an unfair advantage over others (multi-level diffusers) in the beginning. I guess FIA gave brown a favour by approving Brown's diffuser solution.

F1 is moving into the past again ... with Ferrari as the only brand-owned team ... While others will be "independent" - only using branded engines until allowed.

I'm not interested in such s..t at all.

I'd rather see carmaker's playground than a playground of some rich team owners ala Dennis, Williams etc. They should finally retire. I'm full of Mosley's & Ecclestone's Britisness - obsession with tradition and all. F1 should move into 21st century - not into the past of "independent" garage teams.

But I guess F1 is still more about egosport than motorsport. Shame!

Quite the opposite.

Alfa-Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati, Lancia and Mercedes Benz dominated from the end of WWII till till 1958.
Before that you had MB and Auto dominating, before that Alfa-Romeo, Maserati and Bugatti, before that FIAT and so on and so forth.

The dick measuring contest between car manufacturers and the failure of more then one or two (rarely 3) teams to win is the very definition/essence of Grand Prix racing and the reason this series was conceived in the first place.
Back then though, racing was technologically relevant, witch isn't the case today. Production cars have now semi-active and active suspensions, active differentials, KERS systems that are far more then 20% efficient, TC-LC, ABS, ESC and so forth.

F1 is technologically behind the curve no longer leaving in the real world, of the future witch means hybrids and electric cars.
If it continues like this it will become basically a historical racing series.

Me neither.
If GP racing should go to the past for it should be the far past, 1906, a technologically relevant competition between car manufacturers who were interested in promoting their brands and improving their cars.

Now that's tradition.