Toyota latest to join Formula One exodus

TOKYO: Formula One was left reeling yesterday as Toyota became the latest automaker to quit the glamor sport in response to the economic crisis, just days after tire manufacturer Bridgestone pulled out.

Toyota said the decision to quit after this year's season, which ended on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, reflected "the current severe economic realities."

Honda and Germany's BMW have already exited F1 to cope with the credit crunch. Toyota's withdrawal leaves no Japanese automaker left in the high-octane motorsport, raising fresh fears for its future.

The company said no decision had been made on whether to sell or disband the team, which has not won a Grand Prix since its 2002 debut on the F1 circuit and finished this season ranked fifth in the constructors championship.


"It was a tough decision because we are betraying the expectations of fans," Akio Toyoda, a racing enthusiast and grandson of the automaker's founder, told a news conference.

"I apologize to our fans from the bottom of my heart. I made the decision myself."

He ruled out supplying engines to other teams, saying: "In terms of Formula One, we will make a complete withdrawal."

While F1 attracts millions of viewers, the amount of money it costs to run a team - estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars a year - means it has become an unaffordable luxury for cash-strapped Japanese manufacturers.

The sport has lurched from crisis to crisis in recent years, including financial troubles, a Renault race-fixing scandal and a threat by a clutch of teams earlier this year to form a breakaway series over a proposed budget cap.

Facing a collapse in worldwide car sales, Toyota had already pulled out of hosting the Japanese Grand Prix at its Fuji Speedway circuit from next year.

On Monday, Bridgestone said it would end its contract as the official tire supplier to F1 - joining an exodus of Japanese auto firms from world motor sports.

Honda announced in December its shock withdrawal from F1, selling its team to former principal Ross Brawn - reportedly for just one British pound.

Brawn driver Jenson Button of Britain has since been crowned the new F1 champion, and the team topped the constructors standings.

Suzuki and Subaru meanwhile have withdrawn from the world rally championship, while motorcycle maker Kawasaki has exited the MotoGP and Mitsubishi is quitting the Dakar Rally despite a dozen victories.

Toyota's decision to exit F1 comes as the global economic downturn forces Japanese automakers to slash costs and step up their focus on environmentally friendly cars such as petrol-electric hybrids.

"Not only Toyota but all automakers are now under pressure to concentrate their investments in green technology," said Mamoru Kato, an auto analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.

"Toyota launched the F1 business in an effort to boost sales in Europe by improving its brand image there but the impact appears to have been smaller than expected," said Kato.

Toyota overtook US rival General Motors in 2008 as the world's top selling automaker but it fell into the red for the first time in the year to March 2009 and expects another loss this year.

Source:China Daily/AFP