It has been confirmed by Toyota that despite signing the concorde agreement to race earlier this year that they will not be racing in 2010. Toyota had delayed officially announcing one way or the other until last weeks board meeting at head office in Japan. The decision is due to the parent company posting its worst financial loss since it began trading.
Akio Toyoda, Toyota president announced that there was no option but to withdraw due to “current severe economic realities“. The decision has come only a year after the other Japanese team Honda announced that they were leaving the sport due to financial difficulties. In the 2009 season Honda were replaced by Brawn GP, who clinched both the constructors and drivers titles in the seasons penultimate race in Brazil. We will have to wait and see whether the replacement team for Toyota, which is expected to be a return by Sauber following them being given a provisional 14th spot by Bernie Ecclestone earlier in the year, can emulate this impressive debut performance.
Toyota have struggled to perform since they entered the sport in 2002, despite having some of the most renowned drivers in the paddock over the years including Ralf Schumacher and Olivier Panis. In 139 races, they have never collected a race win, however, things had been looking up for them this season with two 2nd places and finishing 5th behind Ferrari.
Difficult Times for Japanese Motorsport
Japan has been heavily involved in motorsport over the last decade which has created many opportunities for us to enjoy their talent for engineering and driving. This appears to be at an end now with Honda and Toyota pulling out of F1, Toyota pulling out of hosting F1, Subaru and Suzuki withdrawing from World Rally Championship and Kawasaki out of MotoGP.
To make it worse, Williams has announced that it will be getting their engines from Cosworth in 2010 and Japanese tyre company Bridgestone will not renew their contract to supply Formula 1 after the 2010 season ends.
As a huge fan of motorsport, I feel it is a great shame to see such talent as Glock, Trulli and even Kobayashi stranded with no guarantee of a drive next year. I hope that they will be able to get their finances in order
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