Everyone will point to the pullouts from Formula One by Toyota, Honda and BMW as proof that automakers finally realise their F1 folly. But in my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth.
The main reason why these car manufacturers left F1 is because of the severe global recession and its far-reaching effects. No company has been spared from the financial carnage, but some such as Toyota took the hit harder than others.
Toyota has always been one of the sport’s biggest spenders, with an estimated annual budget of US$300 million. The massive dip in global car sales caused the carmaker to bleed red ink, making its high expenditure in F1 look even more costly. And the race results since the Toyota factory team started competing in 2002 had been terrible, considering the expense and effort.
Akio Toyoda, the president of Toyota, said: “It is with much regret that we have to pull out of F1 completely, as it has been an irreplaceable experience that provided an opportunity to develop both our human resources and R&D operations.”
Indeed, F1 has always been an important tool for carmakers to stretch their corporate boundaries and push the automotive technology envelope. Dry carbon fibre wings and diffusers (read about road-car diffusers here), carbon brakes and clutches, launch and traction control systems, paddle-shifters, sequential transmissions and regenerative braking systems – F1 has been the ultimate test-bed for the creation/improvement of these advanced components, which have found their way into everyday vehicles for you and me.
