BusinessWeek | November 4, 2009
At a hastily arranged press conference this evening in Tokyo, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda announced that the carmaker is the latest big player to quit Formula One motorsport. Toyota, which competed in 139 races after entering the sport in 2002, recording no wins, will quit immediately. Toyoda said the company will also stop providing engines to the Williams team. “It’s a complete withdrawal,” he said, citing the “the current severe economic realities”. Toyota follows Honda, which quit F1 last December, and BMW which entered its final race on Nov. 1 in Abu Dhabi. On Nov. 2, Japanese tire-maker Bridgestone said it would pull also out of the sport, saving $100 million a year.
While long rumored, Toyota’s decision to quit wasn’t a certainty. For one thing, since becoming CEO in June, Toyoda, a keen racer, has talked of giving Toyota a sportier image. At last month’s Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota showed the $375,000 Lexus LFA supercar, which its CEO had a hand in developing, and the rear-wheel drive FT-86 sports concept.
Despite never winning a race, this season wasn’t all bad and included several podium finishes. And, after an injury to first-choice driver Timo Glock, Kamui Kobayashi, a Japanese driver who graduated from Toyota’s driver training scheme, impressed in the final two races. Toyoda said the decision has nothing to do with Toyota’s poor record in F1. Indeed, with Toyota expected to post a second consecutive annual loss this fiscal year, it is in some ways surprising it took this long to quit. Running a F1 team can cost upwards of $500 million a year.
A bit like Honda last year, the decision may also make good business sense. Spending such large sums on a sport that isn’t a huge draw in the U.S. isn’t the best use of limited resources. On top of that, gas guzzling F1 cars don’t sit comfortably with Toyota’s carefully honed “green” image, while it’s hard to see their relevance to any of the company’s production cars, save the Lexus LFA. And, if all that isn’t reason enough, F1’s teams and management haven’t covered themselves in glory in recent times. In 2007, the McLaren team was fined $100 million for its part in a spying scandal. Last year, Toyota was one of several teams that put its name to a statement attacking Max Mosley, the chairman of the sport’s governing body, after he became embroiled in an embarrassing sex scandal. And this year Flavio Briatore, the chief of the Renault team, was banned for life after instructing one of the team’s drivers to crash on purpose.
F1 ni, budget besar…….Rally World Rally Championship sekali pun, Team Malaysia suatu masa dulu pun tak cukup budget…..nak masuk WRC….kesian ‘Kamranjit Singh’
rasanya najib tak perlu lihat prospek F1 yg besar, jika setakat nak tunjuk semangat ’1 Malaysia’ dia….
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Bro Zulnizam, kalau tak join or created this kind of event maknanya no fulus to them.
They have to create and come up with any kind of projects regardless benefited to rakyat in order to rob/transmit the money to their bank accounts respectively,simple is that.
This is what they have been doing all this while.
RAKYAT MALAYSIA ARE YOU STILL AWAKE?
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caldina Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 9:41 am
BN penyamuuuuuuunnnnnnnnn……
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F1 have nothing to do with 1Malaysia…all this are Good only if our country are Prosperous(Negara Kaya Dan Rakyat Senang) then it will only be meaningful…but anyway is Good for the Country Image view by the World on Moto Sport.
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i believe that FI Malaysia will quit in 2011. hahahaha
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aiyah…all don’t worry lah…kita kuat makan $$$ and boleh beli champion mah
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1Malaysia F1 team only for the political people to more corrupt and wash black money nia….
Ever big company such as Toyota, Honda & BMW have pull out, but Malaysia join….
Our government account is “kering” and now want to waste the money in it liao….
Tis one only to cover up Port Klang scandal only which waste our 10billion as interest only…
after F1, dun know how many billion to be cover up again, at last 1Malaysia team will be hand over to Petronas to cover the losses….
This is how our money been use….. HIDUP DUIT RAKYAT MALAYSIA….
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this 1Malaysia F1 will create many projects for them, multi billion certain portion will go to them & only them.
Open tender? no way. najib control treasury.
that’s why, dulu kini & selamanya BN is ONLY for elites & cronies. never for people. never for majority Malay.
najib & cronies just want to get super rich from taxpayer moneys.
and fool you with 1Malaysia & many ‘magical’ dreams n rhetorics.
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Just think of logic, If we want to promote Malaysia, How many gov agencies that promote Malaysia we have now? How much rakyat money have been poured into this agencies? I believed this F1 Malaysia team is just a front to use ‘rakyat’ money. Do you still remember the proposal of the new LCCT aiport in nilai? the proposer is the same people and the way they planned it still the same where they use the GLC to support them.Last time it was Sime Darby now Proton. If a large company like Toyota and Honda and even Ferari withdraw, I don’t think Lotus that being save by Proton is interested unless if the so called ‘support letter’ came from Putrajaya. Eventhough people in Proton don’t really like it but as like our PKFZ ex-MD said ‘Saya menurut perintah’, the project have to be supported, who going to be blame later if Proton through 1Malaysia F1 make a big losses? From here, yes goverment didn’t put any money on that PFI (Private Finance Initiative) project but a piece of letter is worth more than anything. They can’t approach Petronas because Petronas was a no-nonsense GLC which they hope they can ride on. I salute Sime Darby that have gut’s to say no to the proposer of Nilai LCCT because from what I see, they the proposer don’t have money to do it. If they continue with the project, I can suggest a motto for the team, ‘Everyone Can Ride’ on GLC. Can’t you see the logic?
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Kepada semua pembaca,
Telah terang dengan jelas dan nyata seperti kenyataan di atas yg mane company toyota, pembuat kereta antara tersohor di dunia pun tak mampu nk join F1 lagi berdasarkan ekonomi sekarang…si PM kita mmg pandai kira pasal ekonomi, nk gak join F1…ape yg rakyat dpt dengan F1 ni…harga tiket pn tak mampu nk beli, tgk kt tv jela…..tp sekadar tengok…bukan dpt menampung beban kewangan ataupun kos sara hidup sekarang… kepada rakyat malaysia, bangkit la demi masa depan kita dan anak cucu cicit kita nnt…wasalam
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Alahai..apelak kena mengena dgn kerajaan Malaysia kan F1 Malaysia tu di taja oleh Air Asia dan Naza Motor.Kerajaan hanya memberi guna pakai litar Sepang atau aper2 kemudahan yg kerajaan ader.Dari pada Air Asia menaja pasukan lain adalah lebih baik menaja pasukan sendiri dan itu juga adalah hala tuju F1 yang sebenarnya.Biar lah berfikiran positif sikit mamat mamat ooi…..
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Kalau tak pandai tak payahla cakap. Aku boleh bet kalau hutang MAHB pun susah nak bayar kau ingat AirAsia tu nak manage F1? Pirah mabuk, Paling tak pun kereta F1 nanti lebih banyak logo dia dari logo 1Malaysia. Kau tengokla nanti. Tak pun bila kalah salahkan kitaorang dlm blog ni yang berpikiran kritikal.
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Asam Gelugor Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Perbezaan antara orang bercakap berdasarkan fakta dan sebaliknya.
Memangtakpandai kau sebenarnya memang pandai,angkat topi sama lu.
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Terima kasih Asam Gelugor, Aku setuju kalau Air Asia nak sponsor syarikat F1 lain lagi bagiuh tapi kalau syarikat F1 lain kena bayaq cash kalau nak tampal logo, tak boleh hutang-hutang atau transfer duit sana sini untuk nak cover acct sebab dia orang profesional. Sebab tu depa ni tak nak sebab tak leh kredit dengan Mat Saleh. So kita kalau memang tak pandai tak pa tapi jangan kena tipu dek depa ni.
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Betul kate memangtakpandai, sayer rase F1 TEAM ni wat abis duit rakyat je la.
len la kalo belanjekan duit yang berbillion tu tolong rakyat, lagi bagus.
Lagi pun skang ni owang dah x pandang dah F1, skang ni owang pandang BOLA!!!
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