Toyota to reportedly exit F1 if 2010 rules are not changed
After the FIA's rule change to allow a two-tier budgetary and technical regulation system in F1 next year, Toyota is the first team to come out and say it might not contest the 2010 season. After publishing next year's regulations, the FIA made May 29 the final day for teams to declare their intention to race next year and pay the entry fee. Toyota F1 team president John Howett, who is also vice-president of the F1 Teams Alliance (FOTA), said that unless a new situation is agreed to he can't see Toyota signing up, and he suggested that other competitors feel the same.
The flexibility of technical regulations accorded the capped teams is part of the issue. Patrick Head of Williams F1 said that the adjustable rear wing would be worth up to two seconds a lap, and non-capped teams couldn't make that up anywhere else no matter how much they spent. But if the big teams were to choose caps, there would be huge personnel issues in order to get down to a £40 million budget.
Ferrari head Luca de Montezemolo has made noises about not continuing, but the team has conspicuously had no official comment on the entire situation. Teams like McLaren and Williams, and drivers, have also spoken against next year's regulations. The teams are scheduled to meet with Max Mosley before the Monaco Grand Prix in two weeks time. Hat tip to Jarrett
[Source: Guardian]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
why not the LS2LS7? 5:10PM (5/10/2009)
When I heard of the new regs, I also immediately thought they were discriminatory against Toyota.
But you know what? I don't care.
I think it would be smart of F1 to try to eliminate Toyota-style teams (spend a ton of money for a little result) and encourage Brawn-style teams (spend a less but spend it more wisely). The reason I believe this is that the latter would allow a much higher car count because more teams could afford to compete on this kind of playing field.
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hashiryu 5:38PM (5/10/2009)
That would mean the exit of Ferrari, McLaren, BMW, and Renault. I am a Williams fan myself, but If I can't see my team win against Ferrari or Mac, then it would be quite hollow...... no sense of achievement whatsoever.
why not the LS2LS7? 5:43PM (5/10/2009)
Maybe BMW. But Ferrari, McLaren and Renault generally get results for their money.
Your last statement is illogical. The only reason these big-name teams would leave is because they cannot figure out how to beat what you seem to consider "lesser" teams. If they can win, they'll stay. If they can't win, does it really prove anything to beat them anyway?
The only teams that would have to worry about this would be teams that spend a lot and still can't figure out how to win. No loss in my book.
zamafir 5:43PM (5/10/2009)
It doesn't matter, toyota's bringing their supercar to the 'ring, they can drop out of F1 and still keep their racing, and winning, credentials in tact.
slicecom 5:54PM (5/10/2009)
Brawn had one of the largest, if not the largest development budget for their 2009 car. They're not the fairytale team they're made out to be. They developed the car as Honda, and are still mainly funded by Honda. Yes, they have made cuts now, but don't fool yourself into thinking they would be as fast if they didn't have the HUGE amount of money Honda put in for development.
More impressive than Brawn is RedBull racing, who had significantly less money, and produced a very quick car.
needforspeed820 6:51PM (5/10/2009)
i think the bugaty is the best and i have an S7 in my drive way
why not the LS2LS7? 7:24PM (5/10/2009)
slicecom:
So you're saying they spent more than Toyota? More than Ferrari?
Oh, no?
Then what is your point exactly? They're doing more with less. Maybe not as little as Force India, but so what?
tankd0g 8:06PM (5/10/2009)
This is phase one of the relegation of the Bernie-Mosley club's decent into history. If the big money teams leave, the big money teams will start a new series with much less suck.
hashiryu 10:40PM (5/10/2009)
Ferrari, McLaren, BMW and what used to be Honda have all spent as much as and sometimes more than Toyota. They all (Ferarri, Mac, BMW) have dedicated racing operations with LOTS of staff that would be impossible to whittle away in such a short period of time.
Everyone that spends more than $250 million/year WILL be throwing their toys out of the pram, whether they have started whinging yet or no.
Temple 12:26AM (5/11/2009)
Today RedBull also joined Toyota on the Boycott. Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes have already said the same.
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090510222405.shtml
The fact that the OP here mentions Brawn shows ignorance. Honda, was the major reason for Brawn's success. They sacrificed their entire 2008 season to work on the current car, they had 4 wind tunnels working. In fact, Honda spend more money last year then Toyota, and all that money was spent on the car that Button and Barrichello are driving now.
why not the LS2LS7? 3:33AM (5/11/2009)
hashiyru:
Again, those teams do spend a lot, but unlike Toyota they (for the most part) get results. If you're spending and getting results, what do you have to worry about from other teams?
Temple:
You've now repeated what every other team who is doing poorly compared to Brawn has said too. Now put some actual evidence behind it please.
slicecom 3:41AM (5/11/2009)
@ why not the LS2LS7?
Not much less. Here are the top 5 budgets from last season (most of which was spent on development of the 2009 car in Hondas case since the 2008 car was such a dog):
Toyota: $445.6m
McLaren: $433.3m
Ferrari: $414.9m
Honda: $398.1m
Renault: $393.8m
BMW Sauber: $366.8m
Red Bull Racing: $164.7m
Williams: $160.6m
Toro Rosso: $128.2m
Force India: $121.85m
Super Aguri: $45.6m
WilliamTell 5:11PM (5/10/2009)
let the exodus being. F1 is moribund.
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zamafir 5:15PM (5/10/2009)
Indeed, all this F1 drama makes me more and more excited for Lemans. Sometimes it's fun to watch a race now and then.
biggins 5:16PM (5/10/2009)
GOOD! Way for Toyota to STEP UP!!
The 2009 season is GREAT! The cars look goofy as heck, but why change something SO exciting?! Why turn this into Euro-Indy-Car?
Bernie and his cronies need to get the piss out of the rule books and listen to the teams!
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Richard 8:00AM (5/11/2009)
Exactly! At least Toyota have had the courage to step forward. FOTA should stick together on this. F1 was way beyond ridiculous a long time ago already.
A new formula is needed where money isn't siphened off to Ecclestone, there is some sense and stability in the rules (the main reason for the high costs is Mosley and Ecclestone imposting new rules every year), and where the cars represent the pinnacle of automotive research. That doesn't mean hybrids as these are obviously a huge flop (KERS). Cars like the Tesla are already COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE and F1 should become an EV race! If FOTA had control we could again be seeing F1 ideas spinning off into the passenger car market!
sparrk 12:31PM (5/11/2009)
good luck making any money with EV cars , no TV station will pay for that.
Sam 5:27PM (5/10/2009)
They won't.
No team will drop out at a seasons notice due to the money already invested in next years car. Especially considering the form they have been having this year.
2 years time perhaps.
Teams are just blowing hot air at the moment, if they do quit what are they going to do? Form their own championship? Not like Mosley would sanction that.
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tankd0g 8:09PM (5/10/2009)
See: Honda
Bert 8:37PM (5/10/2009)
What did Honda do? They had the 2009 in the can, when they dropped the bomb, or the ball.