Toyota quit F1

Toyota stunned the world of Formula 1 on Wednesday by announcing they were pulling out of the sport with immediate effect.

The announcement is all the more shocking as the team had only recently signed up to the Concorde Agreement - effectively tying it to F1 until 2012. In addition, team boss John Howett was saying as recently as Sunday that he was planning to give Kamui Kobayashi a race deal for next season while chasing a "big name" for the other seat.

One can only assume that the decision must have come as a massive shock to Howett himself, who insisted at the weekend that preparations were already well under way for 2010 and that the team would definitely be on the grid.

The news is a bitter blow for F1, who have lost their third major manufacturer in a year following the departure of both Honda and BMW. All eyes will now be on Renault, who have been tipped to leave the sport in the past but, like Toyota were doing a few days ago, insist they will compete next season.

The one plus point is that Qadbak, who bought out BMW Sauber, look certain to get a slot on the grid for next season. But F1 will be feeling very shaky and wondering how many more major pull-outs the sport can sustain.

What do you make of Toyota's decision to quit F1? What does it mean for the sport as a whole? Post your comments below...

Comments

[les from silverstone]

ivor ...... at the most ecclestone has only 3 years left .......
in fact it is the constructors that have and always will hold the key to formulae 1......
teams recognise that sponsors only sponsor in return for a return on their investment!
the fans could actually make the biggest impact by walking away from spectating at any given circuit ...... pretty much as the turks did this year ........
without the fan base of ordinary folk ecclestone will soon be finished..
none of the circuits that have been built in the last 3/4 years are race tracks .....
THEY are there to pander to the rich and NOT for the working class and as there are far more of working class people around the world it is they also that hold all the aces

[ivor]

Let us sort out one point, Bernie Ecclestone is going nowhere, he has built the sport and in so doing his own empire. He has the brain to ensure no one can rock his boat, he is the main man and is there to stay. Not so it seems the car makers, maybe too much money paid out for minimal return. Maybe boards to satisfy, simply not good enough results to justify continuing in the sport. Give me the days of Frank Williams,
Colin Chapman, Eddie Jordan,Ken Tyrell, Jackie Stewart,Peter Sauber and now of course Ross Brawn. These guys loved the sport, took the rough with the smooth, somehow made the funds work. The sport is the poorer without them and there kind, maybe we need a return to entrants that knew the sport.

[les from silverstone]

ECCLESTONE AND MOSELEY are the culprits that have caused this to happen .......
yes , ok we are in a recession but ..over the last few years this duo have constantly meddled with the rules and caused the middle of the road competitors to become disenchanted simply because when rules are constantly being changed it INCREASES the total expenditure of teams .......because of the extra development needed to get the best out of any given change !
take the tyre fiasco..... as tyres come within the bounds of safety they .. above all else .. should not have been subject to running both types in any race and it should have been an either /or choice for the constructors dependent on which tyre suited any given car .......
hopefully the remaining teams will get rid of ecclestone and his pettiness and start doing what they do best and RACE......
any circuit that prevents overtaking should be discarded
THE constructors ... if they act together.. are the only ones able to prevent F1 from self destruct .......
IN OTHER WORDS ditch ecclestone and only allow the fia to be privy to the constructors actions NOT be the instigators

[snake-eyes]

How can you call it racing? every procession was won by clever pit tactics.
Take it one step further and make it No refuelling and No tyre changes.

[Claire]

What a crazy shambles. Is it Ecclestone's fault for taking all the cash and not giving enough to the teams?

[Colm]

Formula 1 this year has lost Honda,Toyota,Bmw. Renault are undecided as to whether or not it should stay in formula 1. It is expected the company will make a decision within the next few days. Bridgestone are quitting at the end of next season. Subaru and Suzuki have quit the World Rallying Championship. Kwaksaki have quit MotoGp,
Mosley, Ecclestone and the FIA have a lot to answer for, regarding what is happening within formula 1. Mosley and the FIA have to answer for what is happening within the World Rally Championship and MotoGp. Jean Todt should invite Ari Vatanen to join him in the FIA and hopefully between them, they can turn the tide and save motorsport in general from self destruction.

[Flid Frentstone]

Maybe someone should ask these teams if they feel they are actually withdrawing from motor racing at all or just from an ego trip!. As I see it there is, most unfortunately, no longer any real RACING in F1. Look back at this years races and except for mechanical failure, or accidents, plus the very occasional bit of good overtaking you will see that in most cases the qualifying grid positions are the race finish positions. Why?. Because there are little or no overtaking places on most circuits except for in the pits. If the likes of Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna, and many more could manage to overtake then what is the reason for today's drivers not being able to do it?.

[Simon Hodge]

If Renault pull out, that's the last real car manufacturer to go from F1 which is crazy. I don't really count Ferrari and McLaren as that's such a specific market. F1's got to change to get some of the manufacturers back.

[Jez]

What, you got a crazy crystal ball or something? Just read that Renault might pull out too.

[ALESSANDRO FERRERO]

Well another one bites the dust....so what? F1 used to be the showoff of technological prowess which then filtered through to production cars...now it is a sport suffocated by rules.....forza MOTO GP

[Jersey Boy]

What a sad day. People can say they never won a grand prix but they put on a good show. On top of that, there's a lot of people now out of work at Toyota. I only hope they get more jobs at one of those new f1 teams.

[Colm]

Toyota have finally announced they are quitting formula 1.
Just like Honda,BMW and possibly Renault,we will have to wait and see what they decide to do befote the end of the year. What were the FIA and Ecclestone doing that they didn't see this coming or do they not care about the major manufacturers and the knock on effect for other teams. As well as the knock on effect for circuit owners,when they can't fill seats in the stands. Because the sport is no longer interesting, because the major teams aren't taking part in the gp.The FIA needs to act to protect the long term future of the sport and as the governing authority for the sport, take over control of determining what countries and circuits can qualify to host and run gps, not a businessman like Ecclestone.
He and his group have no interest in formula 1,only making huge profits.
If the FIA took over total control of the sport,they could re-allocate the funds raised to help run the FIA, improve circuits and help the teams.

[Jenny]

Maybe someone will buy it and win the world title a la Brawn!!!!!!!!

[max]

This isn't bad news really. In seven years they failed to win a single race and only finished on the podium a few times. Will they be that sorely missed. Time to give another team a chance on the grid I reckon.

[Iain]

How is it that Toyota can sign an agreement committing to F1 until 2012 and then just disappear? If that were normal business wouldn't they get sued and what's to stop every other team doing the same thing. Sounds like we'll be lucky to have half a dozen teams on the grid next year!