Toyota to withdraw from F1 after '09 season

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it is withdrawing from Formula One racing, joining a number of other Japanese automakers leaving major motor sports due to the tough business environment.

Toyota decided not to race in the next F1 season because it expects to stay in the red for the second consecutive year in fiscal 2009, according to sources.

"It's quite tough, thinking about fans, but we had no choice but to make this difficult decision when we considered the business environment over the medium and long terms," Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda said Wednesday.

Honda Motor Co. exited the circuit at the end of the 2008 season after carmakers were hit hard by the global slump in auto demand, so after Toyota's departure there will be no Japanese teams in F1.

Toyota's F1-related spending has come to billions of yen a year. The sources said the automaker will try to find a European buyer for its F1 team.

In withdrawing from F1, Toyota will focus its resources on developing fuel-efficient cars, a potential source of growth. Toyota has been enjoying robust sales of its Prius hybrid.

Toyota joined F1 in 2002 to enhance its technological capacity and boost its image in Europe. The Toyota team finished fifth out of 10 teams in the F1 constructor championship for the 2009 season.

In July, Toyota subsidiary Fuji International Speedway Co. said it will stop hosting Formula One Japanese Grand Prix races at its track in Shizuoka Prefecture, citing sour business conditions.

On Monday, Bridgestone Corp., the sole tire supplier to F1, said it will stop supplying the top auto racing series at the close of the 2010 season next fall, citing the need to save costs and redistribute resources to environmental areas.

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., the maker of the Subaru brand, withdrew from the FIA World Rally Championship last year, while Mitsubishi Motors Corp. announced in February its withdrawal from the Dakar Rally.

For fiscal 2008, Toyota reported a consolidated operating loss of ¥461.01 billion.