Toyota have announced their departure from Formula One, effective immediately.
In a statement, the company said, “Toyota Motor Corporation announces it plans to withdraw from the FIA Formula 1 world championship at the end of the 2009 season. TMC, which had viewed its participation in F1 as contributing to the prosperity of automotive culture, remained dedicated to competing at the pinnacle of motor sports even in the face of the abrupt economic changes that started last year.
“However, when considering TMC’s motorsports actitives next year and beyond from a comprehensive mid-term viewpoint reflecting the current severe economic realities, TMC decided to withdraw from F1.”
Toyota posted the first operating loss in its history last March. Its F1 operation had what was thought to be the largest budget in the paddock, rumoured to be in the region of US $300million per season. A return of no wins, 3 pole positions (a pair of those, the 2005 United States and Japanese races, being achieved through low fuel loads in qualifying and not genuine pace) and 13 podium finishes since 2002 was nothing like good enough to justify that level of expenditure and, in the current climate, the team’s existence.
That the pull-out should come isn’t a surprise in itself, though it would appear to have been a shock to those within the team who, only last weekend, were talking enthusiastically of signing Kamui Kobayashi to drive one of their cars for 2010. A withdrawal at the end of 2008, on the back of a generally uncompetitive season and with the board well aware of their financial situation, would have perhaps made more sense, but the announcement that Honda were ending their involvement in the sport allied to the intense rivalry between the two firms in Japan could have given the team a reprieve. Perhaps the board have had this action in mind for some time, perhaps Williams had enough of an inkling to feel that a move to Cosworth engines had to be undertaken sooner rather than later. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.
That they should withdraw now could still be viewed as unfortunate. Given that the team’s 2009 car was the best all-round package Toyota have yet produced – the team, not the car, were the reason for a lost win in Bahrain, and Trulli’s first corner accident at Spa cost the team another genuine shot at victory – and that the sudden emergence of Kobayashi as a crowd-pleasing star of the future will go down very well with the fanatical Japanese support, were the team on the verge of something? After so many seasons and so much cash spent in pursuit of glory, it’s not difficult to argue that they should have been quite some way beyond ‘on the verge of something’. Whether Jarno Trulli was ever the man to take the team there is another thing, and it will not have gone unnoticed that Kimi Raikkonen, a man who surely would have been, dismissed their recent offer of a drive apparently without even considering it.
What happens next is currently unclear. Trulli was unlikely to be retained and has been heavily linked to the new Lotus team, whose technical director Mike Gascoyne knows and rates the Italian from their time at Jordan and Renault. Kobayashi’s late-season cameo may yet earn him a drive elsewhere, while Timo Glock is thought certain to be announced at Renault shortly. Timo will have been less than thrilled to hear the French manufacturer held a meeting today in which their own future participation in the sport was discussed, though the feeling is that they will at least be around for 2010. Toyota’s entry may be granted to the new owners of the BMW Sauber outfit, though there is talk of a possible management buyout along the lines of the one that saw Honda become Brawn GP a year ago.
Whatever happens, and whoever takes Toyota’s place, the makeup of the grid is changing. Only Renault, Ferrari and Mercedes of the major manufacturers will retain any involvement in next year’s championship. The rest of the grid will be made up of privateer outfits, teams whose core business is racing, who have no reason to exist outside of racing. The newer teams may not be too competitive initially, but they will be there, and they will be committed, with no outside influences affecting their participation. For the future of the sport, this can surely only be a good thing.
