The Toyota Motor Corporation has announced that it is pulling out of Formula 1 at a press conference in Tokyo. The company also issued to following statement:
“Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announces it plans to withdraw from the FIA Formula One World Championship (F1) 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 motor-sports activities next year and beyond from a comprehensive midterm viewpoint reflecting the current severe economic realities, TMC decided to withdraw from F1.
“TMC leaves F1 having compiled 13 podium and 87 point finishes over eight challenging seasons since 2002 with Panasonic Toyota Racing, a full-constructor team.
“It views its time in F1—in which teams put forth their best efforts to fiercely compete at racing’s highest level—as an irreplaceable experience that provided an opportunity to develop both human resources and its R&D operations.
“TMC expresses its deepest appreciation to its F1 fans and others for their warm support.
“TMC also wants to express its heartfelt gratitude to all Panasonic Toyota Racing drivers to date and to all Toyota Motorsport GmbH employees who have helped make the team’s achievements possible.
“TMC intends to do its best to find a solution for those parties who will be affected by any inconvenience this decision may cause.
“Drawing on its experience in F1 and other motor sports, TMC intends to move forward in developing exciting production vehicles, such as the Lexus “LFA” supercar and compact rear-wheel-drive sports cars.
“In motor sports, it will not only race in various categories, but will also actively contribute to further development of motor sports by supporting grassroots races and planning events in which it is easy for people to participate.”
The news is going to cost Toyota a great deal of money. It will not only have to lay off its huge staff in Cologne, but will also have to reach a financial settlement with the Formula One group as it had committed to staying in F1 until the end of 2012. There are now likely to be discussions about how much money Toyota will have it pay in compensation to get out of its commitments made when it signed the new Concorde Agreement.
The company is understood to have studied a variety of options to keep the team alive, notably selling it to the management or to a third party, but the conclusion reached was that it would be cheaper to simply close it down, given the redundancies that would have been required as a result of the plans that were agreed by the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) to bring down F1 staffing levels.
The news will be a major blow for the staff in Cologne, many of them who relocated to Germany to work for the team. There is no other F1 activity in the region as Mercedes-Benz currently does almost all of its F1 work in Britain. The nearest F1 team is Sauber in Switzerland.
The only good news about the Toyota withdrawal is that the Sauber team will now not have problems with its entry as the number of entries is down to 13 again.
joeblogsf1 
I really believe that this is an excuse to get out of F1 because the results have been so embarrasing.
Considering Toyota’s budget and facilities it must be one of the gretest failures in F1 that they never won a single race.
In fact, Toyota’s F1 campaign can only be described as pathetic and humiliating. The global financial crises is only an excuse to get out without the shame of admitting defeat.
Hi Joe,
Any word as to whether Sauber/Quadbak have actually designed a car for 2010?
Leigh
Yes they have
Unlike Honda’s withdrawal nearly a year ago, this isn’t entirely unexpected. The agreements also mean that they cannot repeat history and go for a mangement buyout, not to mention, they don’t have the Ross Brawn factor to complete another fairy tale. I sincerely hope the employees in Cologne can find alternative employment.
Why do I also think Toyota won’t the only team not making the grid in 2010? 😦
Joe,
There’s been many mentions of one of the new teams potentially not making it – do you have any inclination as to which one?
Leigh,
I think they will all make it – in 2010. I would not put bets on 2011.
I assume the place on the 2010 grid can be viewed as an asset. Can this be sold to Qadbak? Or do Bernie’s rules not allow trading of the ‘bond’ between organisations?
RichyS, I was wondering the same thing, it has been expected Toyota to pull out since before the concord agreement was signed, when they did sign it, I was confused. Then all this talk about if BMW would have signed they could have sold the team for more makes me wonder if Toyota can sell Qadbak their spot on the grid?