Toyota's F1 departure may be imminent...

[bigrojo37]

It is cheaper for them to pull out than to stay in...



thats what she said.

[S.Lang]

Originally Posted by Hugo

Oh well. The world turns. Soon it will come full circle and we'll be back to the F1 of the olden days, where craftsmen and smaller teams will team up with an engine supplier and rule the sport.

GOOD.

I've said it before, I'll say it again.

Back when the manufacturers began to overtake F1, I predicted that it would be the ruin of the sport, as it would collapse when the notoriously fickle factories had their fill and pulled out. Thankfully I had completely underestimated the ability of small teams to come back in to fill their spots, apparently.

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by S.Lang

GOOD.

I've said it before, I'll say it again.

Back when the manufacturers began to overtake F1, I predicted that it would be the ruin of the sport, as it would collapse when the notoriously fickle factories had their fill and pulled out. Thankfully I had completely underestimated the ability of small teams to come back in to fill their spots, apparently.

Bingo, manufacturers don't pay to compete, they pay to win. If that doesn't happen, they bail.

Look at sports car racing. As soon as Audi's nearly decade long string of no competition began to become threatened, the ALMS & LMS series became "no longer fiscally viable". Subaru, Mitsubishi and Puegeot pulled out of the WRC when they were no longer dominant. Honda, BMW & Toyota are no different, lots and lots of money with no real results.

F1 survived for 10 years with a bunch of privateers and cosworths, they'll have no trouble.

-Charlie

[ghambino]

That sucks, but I think I'm ok with Toyotas departure. I just hope this is not the end of Kobayashi's career in F1. That guy is a scrapper, reminds me of a young Lewis Hamilton . Hopefully he'll be piloting a F1 car next year instead of serving sushi.

[bimmerzone]

Bye bye toyota, hope Kobayashi gets ride next year

[Feffman]

Panasonic, Toyota's largest F1 sponsor, just announced a $4.4B takeover bid for rival Sanyo today. I wonder if that had anything to do with Toyota leaving.

Feff

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by Feffman

Panasonic, Toyota's largest F1 sponsor, just announced a $4.4B takeover bid for rival Sanyo today. I wonder if that had anything to do with Toyota leaving.

Feff

Seeing as the writing has been on the wall for Toyota since Honda bailed last year, I doubt it.

-Charlie

[CaracasE30]

Still very confused and have a lot of questions about Toyota's exit.

A lot of the news being reported has some punch to it, particularly Toyota's increased pleas for cost reduction and removal of KERS (which FOTA/FIA accepted) and also the approval of Toyota's binding Concorde Agreement with the FIA and F1. There are many questions and concerns which makes me believe that this is NOWHERE near the end of this situation.

I can guarantee you that Toyota will either be in court for a long time or they will settle out of court for untold millions.

[Hugo]

Originally Posted by CaracasE30

Still very confused and have a lot of questions about Toyota's exit.

A lot of the news being reported has some punch to it, particularly Toyota's increased pleas for cost reduction and removal of KERS (which FOTA/FIA accepted) and also the approval of Toyota's binding Concorde Agreement with the FIA and F1. There are many questions and concerns which makes me believe that this is NOWHERE near the end of this situation.

I can guarantee you that Toyota will either be in court for a long time or they will settle out of court for untold millions.

What are they gonna do, force them to run? Strap a guy in last year's car and make him go? Sue a non-existing team for millions?

[Lance Racing]

I look forward to more privateer involvement.

[indy525]

My fear is that we will see 4 teams that are on pace, including one dominant team (I'll say Mclaren), the rest being a bunch of Super Aguri imitators that don't have the experience or cash to build a competitive car. I can't see USF1, Campos, or Manor being anywhere near pace.

Brawn, although cash strapped now, weren't when they developed this years car. This car was developed with Honda's money when Honda stopped backing the 2008 car.

[Bane2871]

Originally Posted by indy525

My fear is that we will see 4 teams that are on pace, including one dominant team (I'll say Mclaren), the rest being a bunch of Super Aguri imitators that don't have the experience or cash to build a competitive car. I can't see USF1, Campos, or Manor being anywhere near pace.

Brawn, although cash strapped now, weren't when they developed this years car. This car was developed with Honda's money when Honda stopped backing the 2008 car.

If the Cosworth turns out to be a good motor, USF1 stands a good chance. They are part owners of the wind tunnel that all the F1 teams use for development. They should have the aero part down cold.

They just need the car to handle well and some good drivers.

[Def]

Originally Posted by Bane2871

If the Cosworth turns out to be a good motor, USF1 stands a good chance. They are part owners of the wind tunnel that all the F1 teams use for development. They should have the aero part down cold.

They just need the car to handle well and some good drivers.

I don't think many F1 teams are using the tunnels in NC. Maybe lots of NASCAR teams.

I'm really rooting for USF1 though. Plan on getting a USF1 jacket and lanyard to sport at work as soon as merchandise becomes available.

[B.Watts]

Originally Posted by Def

I don't think many F1 teams are using the tunnels in NC. Maybe lots of NASCAR teams.

From what I've heard, more than one team has made the visit since it opened. There are only so many 180 mph rolling road wind tunnels in the world. I think I remember reading that they can be counted on one hand.

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by indy525

My fear is that we will see 4 teams that are on pace, including one dominant team (I'll say Mclaren), the rest being a bunch of Super Aguri imitators that don't have the experience or cash to build a competitive car. I can't see USF1, Campos, or Manor being anywhere near pace.

So we can watch a bunch of nonsense teams blowing up and wrecking each other at the back of the grid. Sweet.

I loved early 90's F1.

-Charlie

[Dos XX]

As long as Kobayashi gets a ride next year, then it's not that bad at all.

[mijgilbert]

Question for those who know: Why wouldn't Toyota want to sell their team, similar to BMW's sale to the Hinwil group? It said in one of the press releases that they are NOT going to sell the team, but then what is the alternative? Liquidation a la Super Aguri? I'm guessing that the team would make more money liquidating the assets than selling the team as anyone buying the team is taking on a huge responsibility to keep people employed, etc. But any amount recovered must be peanuts to Toyota and wouldn't they like to save face and not lay off the entire team? I don't get why they wouldn't do that... Maybe because Braun took the losers Honda team and turned it into a world champion, and Toyota doesn't want that to happen to them? I guess it would be embarrassing if they had never won a race and then some other outfit bought the team and won a race next year...

But overall, I just don't get it. Help?

[Dos XX]

^Maybe Toyota has plans of coming back when the economy gets better. All the other new teams have everything they need to compete, so who would want to buy what they would want to sell (equipment/transporters/manpower etc.?)

And Toyota haven't sold any of their previous years' racers to interested parties yet, so who knows.

[ArticM3]

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2009/1...williams-boss/

Toyota may have just opened a can of worms by leaving after signing the Concorde Agreement. It sets them up for breach of contract and also may leave them liable if another team's sponsor bail because of the shakiness now "implied" by Toyota's departure.

James Allen seems to think that Renault will watch the legal ramifications of Toyota's withdrawal during the next season before making a decision on running in 2011.