Toyota withdraws from F1 with immediate effect

[Wouter Melissen]

Lotus employ Mike Gasgoine, who apparently had a design almost ready, so they should be on track. They also have serious backing from the Malaysian government.

[LeonOfTheDead]

Originally Posted by Wouter Melissen

Lotus employ Mike Gasgoine, who apparently had a design almost ready, so they should be on track. They also have serious backing from the Malaysian government.

I don't know if Mike Gascoigne alone is enough, while money will surely grant them the entry and a car for some seasons, results would be a whole different thing (ask Toyota).
I'm a bit skeptical about them, the team right now is made of the Briton and a pile of money.

[RacingManiac]

Lotus did show off a wind tunnel model of their 2010 car.....looks with some resemblence to the Force India 2009 car....which Gascoyne also designed....

Not surprising about Toyota quitting, but not a good news nonetheless.....

[Dino Scuderia]

In away isn't the ultimate goal being achieved by getting the elite manufacturers out of F1 making room for more privateer/lower cost types?

The whole FOTA position becomes a joke after the retirements of Toyota and BMW and probably also Renault in the near future. Imagine if they had really split and founded a new championship, I guess in a few years we would see Ferrari running a specs series...ala A1GP.

[lightweight]

Toyota top management must have waited for this since

- they didn't sign off the budget for 2010 F1 season
- they didn't supply engines to other teams
- they didn't sign any drivers

Of course they signed the Concorde Agreement, which means that the withdrawal wasn't certain, but there were some hints that show that it was a discussed possibility.

[LeonOfTheDead]

Possibly the Concorde Agreement thing was just to help a little the other teams, knowing they would have withdrawn. I suppose they were pretty sure on what to do even at that time, even if they were probably also looking if there wasn't another viable way to keep the team running.

[kylekosir]

A bit of nitpicking here, but Lola has announced that they wouldn't enter earlier this year. The fourth team is Manor (aka Virgin seemingly). I'd also add a future Sauber to this list, as they will loose BMW support (would they still receive engines?).

Right I forgot about Manor, but i doubt that Virgin is involved with the team. They signed with Brawn. And better yet Brawn doesn't even know whats going to happen with them next season.

[LeonOfTheDead]

Originally Posted by kylekosir

Right I forgot about Manor, but i doubt that Virgin is involved with the team. They signed with Brawn. And better yet Brawn doesn't even know whats going to happen with them next season.

Virgin isn't keen on Brawn as the price is going to increase after this year's success, and they prefer to keep the costs down.

[Chrischrill]

Toyota leaving Formula 1 despite signing the Concorde Agreement... Is that not a breach of contract?

[Dino Scuderia]

Originally Posted by Chrischrill

Toyota leaving Formula 1 despite signing the Concorde Agreement... Is that not a breach of contract?

Leaving aside that contracts most of the time aren't worth the paper their on.....what is FIA going to say to a manufacturer who has lost billions in the economic downturn and has had no success in F1 for leaving?

[LeonOfTheDead]

Originally Posted by Dino Scuderia

.....what is FIA going to say to a manufacturer who has lost billions in the economic downturn and has had no success in F1 for leaving?

"McLaren's and RBR's parties were better than yours".

[lightweight]

Originally Posted by Chrischrill

Toyota leaving Formula 1 despite signing the Concorde Agreement... Is that not a breach of contract?

FIA made an announcement, saying just that: they left without a warning, on the last minute. They compare them with Bridgestone, who informed FIA 1 year in advance.

I fully expect legal proceedings from the FIA, even if this doesn'e result in financial compensation.

[fpv_gtho]

Originally Posted by kylekosir

Right I forgot about Manor, but i doubt that Virgin is involved with the team. They signed with Brawn. And better yet Brawn doesn't even know whats going to happen with them next season.

The Virgin/Brawn sponsorship deal was only for this year.

Brawn is in advanced talks with Mercedes for a large share of the team to be bought. Theyre pretty secure for next year despite their lack of sponsors.

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by fpv_gtho

The Virgin/Brawn sponsorship deal was only for this year.

Brawn is in advanced talks with Mercedes for a large share of the team to be bought. Theyre pretty secure for next year despite their lack of sponsors.

Could they be turned into Mercedes F1 team, if McLaren ends up buying BMW's F1 engine bussiness?

[RacingManiac]

As far as Haug is concerned McLaren is still MB's primary partner....at least til the end of their current contract. They haven't decided what they are doing with Brawn yet.