Looks like they just can't justify spending any more money on a losing team given all the trouble the company is having these days...

Link

NOVEMBER 4, 2009.
Toyota to Quit Formula One Racing
By NORIHIKO SHIROUZU
Toyota Motor Corp. is planning to leave Formula One motor racing, a person close to the Japanese auto maker said Wednesday, in the latest blow to the popular global sport.

Toyota is expected to call a news conference in Japan later today to announce the decision, which follows the end of this year's racing season this past weekend, the knowledgeable person said.

The exact reason for the move wasn't immediately clear. But it comes at a time when Toyota is struggling with losses following the collapse of car sales in the U.S. and other major markets. Running a Formula One racing team is extremely expensive, costing as much as hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Toyota's expected announcement could deal a major blow to the future of Formula One, which in recent months has also seen BMW AG and Honda Motor Co. leave the sport to cut costs amid sluggish global auto sales. Formula One also has been suffering from declining attendance, internal power struggles and a poor environmental image.

Although a marginal sport in the U.S., Formula One has established itself as the pinnacle of international motor racing and attracts huge television audiences in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. That has made it a big business, with sponsorship and television deals totaling billions of dollars.

Write to Norihiko Shirouzu at norihiko.shirouzu@wsj.com

So when are they leaving NASCAR ?

Ask yourself how many people in Europe buy Toyotas, then how many Americans? How many sponsor dollars are spent on NASCAR compared to F1.

I think you'll have your answer.

Although, I'm not too fond of them in "our" racing either, it's still bad news for racing in general when a manufacturer pulls out.

I'm pretty sure they spend more money on catered lunches in F1 than they do for an entire season in NASCAR. Most estimates had them spending upwards of $400 million dollars per year in F1. That's a lot of money to spend per year for 7 years and not have a single victory to show for it.

I hope Ko-Bash and Trulli find work soon...

Maybe Honda will re-enter the sport. They actually had some beautiful and capable cars

It's no coincidence that Honda, BMW, and now Toyota have left Formula 1. Their biggest market is the USA and there is no race in North America.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris_B:
Maybe Honda will re-enter the sport. They actually had some beautiful and capable cars

I suspect a lot of Brawn GP's success this year had a lot to do with running the Mercedes engine and not Honda engines.

In addition to what has been said, I think Formula 1 has declined to the point of deserving to be pulled out of by manufacturers. There's not much I approve of, executive decisions wise, in the recent history of the sport - and such has been shown in their declining fanbase.

It's a tragic pity that the same is happening to WRC, however. Now that is a sport worthy of continued existence, and I would argue one of the only real sports left.

quote:

Originally posted by HuskySig:

quote:

Originally posted by Chris_B:
Maybe Honda will re-enter the sport. They actually had some beautiful and capable cars

I suspect a lot of Brawn GP's success this year had a lot to do with running the Mercedes engine and not Honda engines.

Engine is one thing, chassis another. Many successful F1 efforts used an engine not made in-house- I don't see Honda doing that, but still- its been done

I am not saying Honda will be an instant competitor or a godsend for the sport. I am merely daydreaming about the days of F1 in the '60s. It was a different era and a different race then but surely Honda has the money to give it a go again

I'd rather see Lotus make a resurgence myself.

As long as I'm dreaming, I'd like to see a Gurney Eagle in US colors racing F1

Sad to hear, especially on the heels of BMW leaving. Hopefully this will allow the Sauber BMW team onto the grid.

quote:

Originally posted by NorfolkP229:
Hopefully this will allow the Sauber BMW Cosworth team onto the grid.

Fixed it for ya, I think; or Mercedes? That leaves Renault, on pins and needles about that one. Should be an interesting end of the year.

Best euro gossip speculates that McLaren will say goodbye to Mercedes and buy up the BMW engine works for themselves.

I remember the great Senna vs. Prost rivalry and Honda dominance. That was a good time to watch F1 racing. It's not the same anymore.

Look like Renault is seriously considering leaving F1 too. They're going to make their decision before the end of the year.

I wonder if BMW and Toyota and possibly Renault would have left the sport if FOTA had successfully branched off and formed their own series?

quote:

Originally posted by t001:
I remember the great Senna vs. Prost rivalry and Honda dominance. That was a good time to watch F1 racing. It's not the same anymore.

Those were truly the days. Prost, Senna, Mansell, the racing was incredible back in the 80's and early 90's when I first started watching. Now it's more of a parade around the track with almost no passing which is so dissapointing. I'll always watch, I'm a diehard F1 fan, but I wish they could get back to the way it used to be.

I went to the first formula one race event in Shanghai PRC. It was a big four day event. I was lucky and was able to see about 2 curves on the track.

First the cars would come around the first curve revvvvvving like crazy, slow for the corner then revvvvvv like crazy going around to the next corner.

Then you would wait 3-5 minutes and they would come back for another 20 seconds...

really boring! And I got to actually see something that never happens in F-1 one car passed another car! That actually never happens!

I'm convinced that F-1 is just a scam. To get cities like Shanghai who want to be huge international cities with everything to spend money on race tracks. Thank God there is no F-1 in the US.

To Sotar,

You are exactly right. No honest hard working American racing fan wants to pay huge ticket prices to watch euro pretty boys play follow the leader for two hours. We want real racing, wheel to wheel, fender to fender battles.

Some other posters had it right, 80s and early 90s was pretty much the height of F1. Rules and excessive BS, like the "luncheon" provided by the manufacturers at events are the real reason companies are pulling out. Look at what they spend vs. what they receive.

Whereas in NASCAR, the sponsor fits most of the bill, not the manufacturer, and people can acutally buy a Camry or Impala or what-have-you. Granted, they don't share a single part with the actual race cars, but still...you get the idea. And, the last Cup race I attended was sold-out.

I came from a bike background, and I consider it to be very much like GP vs. World Super Bike.
Taking nothing from Rossi or the other greats in GP, but who wants to watch them follow each other around a circuit for an hour? In WSB, it's elbow-banging, tire-rubbing, honest to God racing...on a bike that you could actually buy.(at least the chassis)

I have been an F1 fan since the mid 90's.
I think the problem is that the FIA keeps making changes to cut costs, but they don't realize how much cash it costs the teams every time they come up with some stupid rule. Remember the change from v12's to v10's? Every team had to completely redesign their cars, new engine, gearbox, suspension ect. Then the change to v8's, same thing.
No tire changes caused Ralf Schumacher's big crash at Indy, then no more US GP.
The "major changes" to make passing easier were a joke.
Next year there will be no refueling...this should be interesting. A complete car redesign to accomodate the larger fuel tanks.

I caught an F1 podcast interview with Bob Varsha and he mentioned these exact same problems with F1...

-Lack of passing

-Changes meant to save money end up costing teams more money

-Ticket prices to high

-Near no interaction between the drivers and the fans.

If F1 can start correcting some of these pain points, they are really going to flourish. Hoping, positive changes will start coming with the changing of the guard that is coming.

My humble suggestion...





nero(if it slays, it pays...)