Why is Toyota not in F1 anymore? Why did the Japanese manufacturer leave the sport?
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Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Japan. It is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 million vehicles per year which is a staggering amount. Not long ago, the motoring outfit was in F1 as a constructor. Although the fans do not miss them as much. The main reason being their performance during the 8 years in which they competed in the sport.
Having joined the sport in 2002, fans expected Toyota to be a powerhouse with the number of resources that it had compared to other manufacturers on the grid. However, in their eight-year stint in the sport, they didn’t manage to get a single win and did not perform up to the mark. After the recession in 2008, it was obvious that most of the teams would be suffering massively. The Japanese manufacturer was one that had a comparatively worse season.
The company reported a loss of 8.3 billion dollars that year which resulted in the team’s taking a leave from the sport. After taking a substantial loss like that, the big wigs in Japan felt that the F1 program needed to be shut down since there was a substantial amount of investment connected to the sport. Since the investment wasn’t bearing any fruit, the manufacturer made a shock announcement that they would leave the sport at the end of 2009.
“This was a difficult but ultimately unavoidable decision,” Akio Toyoda on Toyota’s departure from F1
The president of the company further went on to explain the reasons behind the decision. “This was a difficult but ultimately unavoidable decision. Since last year with the worsening economic climate, we have been struggling with the question of whether to continue in F1,” he said.
“We are pulling out of Formula One completely. I offer my deepest apologies to Toyota’s many fans for not being able to achieve the results we had targeted,” he explained.
This in turn was a great disaster for the employees of the team including the drivers. The manufacturer leaving the sport had shocked other teams who had also begun to reassess their stint in the sport after the crisis. However, this isn’t the end of motorsports for the Japanese manufacturer as they still take part in multiple categories all over the world. The company is known for its endeavours in Rally and Endurance championships. A return to F1 looks unlikely at this point but shouldn’t be written off as the company could seek inspiration from Honda and make a comeback.
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Varad Joshi
(940 Articles Published)