Toyota and Bridgestone’s double blow
The news this morning that Toyota has pulled out of Formula 1 with immediate effect is not a total surprise, but it caps a very bad 48 hours for Formula 1. On Sunday night, after the teams and media had packed up and left the Abu Dhabi circuit, Bridgestone also announced its withdrawal from Grand Prix racing, at the end of 2010.
In terms of long-term damage, the Bridgestone decision is by far the worst of the two. The Japanese tyre company has given so much to the sport and seamlessly introduced the return of slicks to F1 this year without a blip to its quality and supply. Companies with the experience, technology, capacity and financial willing to supply F1 tyres are limited in the extreme, and given that a new supplier would ideally need two years to prepare for the mammoth task of providing rubber to the whole Grand Prix grid, this is a serious blow.
So who will step in? Michelin is the only company with recent F1 experience that stands out as the obvious option. But it withdrew from F1 at the end of 2006 in disgust, in the belief it was persecuted by the FIA following the debacle at Indianapolis in 2005 and in the wake of the governing body’s decision to impose a single tyre supplier for 2008. Competition is at the heart of Michelin’s ethos – so will it even want to become the sole supplier for 2011? New FIA president Jean Todt has his first major crisis on his hands
And so to Toyota. The world’s biggest automotive manufacturer will be remembered in F1 terms for one thing: failure. In 139 races since its debut season in 2002, Toyota has a string of second places to its name and a best finish of fourth in the constructors’ championship. It has also spent more money than any other team.
There have been some good people working for Toyota over the years, including current team principal John Howett, and they deserve more for their efforts. But Toyota just never got F1. Its corporate culture always seemed to strangle the ingredient of inspiration that Grand Prix teams always need. A series of conservative cars, conservative driver choices – and even conservative race strategies – made the team something it should never have been in F1: a non-entity.
Individuals such as Howett will be missed, particularly following his good work for the Formula One Teams’ Association last summer. But the team will be forgotten very quickly.
The announcement does open the door for the Sauber team, of course. Following BMW’s similar tail-between-its-legs decision to quit the sport, the team was left as a reserve on the entry for 2010. If its mysterious new owner, investment consortium Qadbak, can deliver, the team will presumably take up the 13th team place on the grid.
So Honda, BMW and Toyota are gone, and Bridgestone are on the way. Who’s next? Renault? Now that really would rip the sport to shreds.
Filed under: Formula 1
This is Damien’s second spell as editor of Motor Sport, following his short stint (just nine issues!) in 2005. He has returned to the magazine after two years as editor-in-chief of Autosport, a magazine he first joined in 1996. During his time on the weekly, Damien covered everything from club racing to Formula 1, via Formula 3000 and sports car racing. He is also one of the two Trombonists on the editorial team. 
Jonesracing82:
November 4th, 2009 11:07am
there we have it, they make rules to suit the Manufacturors and 1 by 1 they r all leaving the sport!
teams like Williams will be in F1 for as long as they can afford to be…..
iain:
November 4th, 2009 12:02pm
fortunately I think Renault HAVE to stay, at least till 2012 in order to repair the damage to their image. sad thing is for me, not only will the teams be returning to ‘early 90s levels of expenditure’ we could be heading for early 90s levels of competition with a couple of hot dog teams at the front and 3 or 4 teams at the back getting in the way 5 seconds off the pace. FOTA will yet regret not accepting a budget cap.. all the new teams are going to STRUGGLE.
Michael Spitale:
November 4th, 2009 12:43pm
This is horrible…. Toyota was looking good and with a top driver could have probably had a win this year. Honda was horrible and had no reason to go forward at the time.
Dave Cubbedge:
November 4th, 2009 1:46pm
it won’t matter who is in F1 if there are no tires.
Toyota’s abrupt departure does not surprise me at all. Why they race in any series also has me curious since they do not offer any kind of car that would be described as a sports car or even a sports tourer! From what I gather after attending several NASCAR races is the core fan base would rather they go away. The Toyota road cars of the last decade have been pretty mundane performers, if affordably luxurious for the masses. I own two Toyotas, but they are both pre-1998!
gary:
November 4th, 2009 3:00pm
When motor sport first started asking for questions on the website i asked then what would happen to F1 when the ‘manufacture’ teams pulled out . Naming them at the time as Honda , Toyota , BMW . Lets see how many are left now ??? ZERO . Thank goodness that Max Mossley had managed to get some new teams for next year , especially LOTUS , its time we get back to racing being fun and exciting and not who can make the most money out of the sport
Andy Reeves:
November 4th, 2009 4:12pm
What is Bernie going to say to these new circuit owners?.If I were to be in the market for a grand prix then It would have to be a big production with credible participants
Dave Cubbedge:
November 4th, 2009 6:09pm
Concerning tires: I just read (at that other UK mag website) that Bridgestone had notified the FIA 18 months ago as to their intentions, thereby giving the FIA plenty of time to line up another supplier. This is the first I’ve heard of this. Considering their stormy relationship with Michelin, who could that supplier be?
Lawrence Zwer:
November 4th, 2009 10:52pm
To Dave Cubbedge:
I think you’ve misunderstood. Bridgestone is giving the FIA 18 months notice (or thereabouts) as they aren’t leaving F1 until the end of the 2010 season.
If they had given notice 18 months ago that would’ve given the FIA near 3 years to prepare for the 2011 season and we would have heard at least something about a new supplier by now.
I’m hoping the FIA opens it back up to competition: come on Michelin v Goodyear!
Mario Carneiro Neto:
November 5th, 2009 1:14am
F1 is a circus where the clowns (FOM and FIA) are not funny….
I agree with what Ferrari has posted on their website today. This is a lamentable end to a season that sucked year round, courtesy of Mosley and Bernie…
What a shame..
Drood:
November 5th, 2009 5:17am
I say good riddance to Toyota, BMW etc… Unlike Williams, who are there for a love of the sport, the big car makers only come in to sell their products, and then leave again.
F1 is better off, long term, without them. Let’s not forget time once was that Cosworth powered pretty much every car on the grid (barring obvious exceptions).
F1 doesn’t need the manufacturers. In fact the best way to get costs back under control is to get rid of the bottomless pockets of said manufacturers.
I do NOT want to see a return of the tyre wars either. Bridgestone vs Michelin served nobody. Races should be won by the best driver. It’s hard enough these days for the best driver to be in the right place, but for the tyre maker to then be yet another component (see: Ferrari in 2005 with the awful Bridgestones) which can screw over the racing. No thanks.
a.eglington:
November 5th, 2009 9:55am
Are we heading back to the 70s &80s when we had Ferrari versus a host of Cossie kit cars?
To my mind this was one of the most enjoyable periods of F1,well to watch from the sidelines.
This time we will also have the Mercedes boys to spice things up.
I have no doubt that the new boys will be mobile chicanes at first but then Team Willie were not setting the world alight until the sublime FW07 appeared in 1979 a full 12 years after Franks first entry(Piers Courage in an F3 Brabham BT21B at Brands Hatch in 1967.
Tyres now that is a different problem,yes we need them,but I fully expect Bernie will pull something out of his bag of tricks .I seem to remember watching Fangio conducting a Ferrari at impossible speeds on Englebert tyres complete with treads around Siilverstone way back in the 50s
Dave Cubbedge:
November 5th, 2009 1:14pm
ah yes, you’re right LZ. sometimes the fingers work faster than the brain……
Andy Reeves:
November 5th, 2009 3:37pm
What are the chances of a US grand prix and goodyear tyres coming back now ?.The scene is set for a hasty bit of back pedalling by the higher powers.
My thoughts [for what they are worth] are that Damon tells Bernie where to insert his £30 million procession.
Neil Stretton:
November 5th, 2009 5:20pm
It’ll be just like the good ol’ days: Formula Cosworth vs. Ferrari. Both engine builders, as Eddie Jordan would say, with “Racing DNA in their bodies!”
Alastair Warren:
November 6th, 2009 12:39am
I don’t like the control tyres. The two compound rule is a contrived stimulus to try to liven up the racing.
piero dessimone:
November 6th, 2009 7:47am
Ken Tyrrel was right in 1976/1977 when he was extremely worried about the road car manufacturers etering F1(at that time Renault with turbo engine)
With the exception of Ferrari and few others in the early fities the succes of F1 is due to the people and team like Vanwall, Cooper, Lotus,Brabham, March, Hesketh, Shadow, Ligier,McLaren, Williams, Jordan and I could go on with other names. I personally always knew that sooner or later we would have gone back to where it all started.
Only here in Italy they do not understand this and our so called experts they keep saying or writing “we are loosing Bmw, Toyota and we are getting Manor, USF1 etc”.
Steve Wyant:
November 6th, 2009 9:03pm
Toyota and Bridgestone leaving F1 will only be but a tiny blip on their public image… I’ll wager that 99% of their mainstream day-to-day customers either don’t know – or don’t care that these companies have been involved with F1.
Mario Carneiro Neto:
November 7th, 2009 8:02am
The independent teams are, yes, a great part of F1. A Huge part. But as the sport evolves, the entrance of manufacturers could have been something very exciting. The issue is that the Politics and the Money interferes with the pure sportmanship. Ferrari is the exception, as they live and breathe F1, but Mercedes, Lotus, and even Renault and BMW have had successful runs in the past.
It’s their choice if they want to leave, but the guys who are coming in are, in my opinion, the wrong choices for F1. Someone talked about Cooper, Brabham, Tyrell etc.. Well I seriously doubt that USF1, Campos and Manor are bigger, more promising names than Lola, Sauber or Prodrive, for example.
2010 sure will be a strange year in F1, but in an optimistic tone, I think it ha great potential to be an exciting one too.. That is if we can survive the next 4 – 5 months without any other rule changes or scandals.
David Brighton:
November 12th, 2009 12:12am
F-1 has been so grossly mismanaged for so long I think the miracle is that it does as well as it does. Witness Bernie and Max’s lust for money and power (not to mention the fantastic opportunities to do over your ‘enemies’). Races in countries with little or no interest in F-1 but plenty of money pay B, M and friends for races. Rule making designed to help your friends and hurt your enemies. Drivers that can actively ‘take out’ their competitors with no repercussions and other that are fined and lose points for minor infractions. Should we mention Ferrari’s secret ability to oversee the rules whist McLaren gets fined a hundred million and we don’t even know if McLaren benefited at all from their illegal knowledge? As they say, money and power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Hasn’t the Bernie and Max show proved that yet?
piero dessimone:
November 12th, 2009 1:12pm
Who cares if Honda,BMW,Toyota, Bridgestone etc. are retiring. F1 is not in their DNA. Properly managed teams with the right driver like Hesketh, Shadow,Wolf,Ligier, Stewart,Toro Rosso(aka Minardi)have won races and made F1 the sport that I like and I am following since 1975. The big car manufacturers arrived, spent a lot of money and achieved almost nothing apart almost ruining the game. To me the most clever have been Frank Williams for not selling his team and Mercedes for staying as an engine supplier. Last but not least the Brawn GP triumph is the classical example of good managers doing the job right and personally I am delighted.
pete cudworth:
November 13th, 2009 7:25pm
I feel sorry for Kamui Kobayashi who,i think, deserved a seat for next season