Just two weeks ago Toyota offered Raikkonen oodles of cash to put Panasonic on his chest and race for the slightly red and white. Today, Toyota quits F1. Coincidence?
That's what he thought of your offer, Toyota.
This morning’s headline came as a bit of a shock to me. We all knew that the Japanese car industry was in trouble when giants Honda pulled out of F1 and Subaru pulled out of WRC. Colin Mcrae must have 360′d in his resting place.
But a goliath like Toyota pulling out of F1 is just massive. Over the next few days be sure to expect everyone with a slightly dim view of the sport trumpeting its demise. But on closer inspection, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. With a budget of £300m a year, Toyota participated in 139 races without a win. They did nab 13 podiums, but then again, so has Vettel, almost, and he’s 16 or something.
The thing is, Toyota, like Honda, failed to realise that F1 isn’t about the goliaths. It’s not about smart suits sitting in a boardroom in Tokyo making decisions about a tyre choice at Interlagos. F1 rewards teams that think on their feet and make the best decisions under the circumstances.
Better days.
Just look at Brawn this season; that team used to be Honda and also used to have 10 times the budget. (And if anyone is about to throw Ferrari at me, let’s just remember that how small that operation started out; Enzo made road cars so that he could fund his racing team. Ferrari and F1 grew up together.)
So perhaps BMW, Toyota and Honda leaving F1 is not a bad thing in the long run. Let’s see more smaller teams on the grid, gritting their teeth threw the tight budgets and tough decisions. Hell, maybe the actual on-track antics of the sport will become more exciting. No more light shows in the deserts, Bernie.
Ciro De Siena
Tags: bmw, exits, f1, formula 1, formula one, honda, quits, raikkonen, toyota
