F1 Teams Determined Not To Quit The Sport
Following Honda’s decision to withdraw from F1, the majority of the remaining teams have pledged to continue their participation in the sport despite warnings from FIA president Max Mosley that more pull-outs could follow.
In light of the Honda announcement, BMW Sauber, Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault and Toyota have all stated their determination not to quit F1.
With top teams spending about £300m a year, Mosley said the sport had to cut soaring costs.
The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) met last week to discuss proposals to secure the future of the sport, and said agreement had been reached on ‘substantial cost-cutting for 2009 and 2010’ as well as ‘additional initiatives to improve the show’.
Toyota, believed to be under the most pressure in the current economic crisis, said they were ‘committed to succeeding in Formula One and to reducing costs’, despite axing the media launch for their 2009 car as a money-saving measure.
Williams, who limped to eighth place in 2008, is one of the few teams that have yet to make a statement. One of the few remaining independent teams, Williams have seen sponsors RBS, AT&T and Philips suffer heavy losses in recent months.
Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Force India operate under a separate financial model, relying on funding from billionaire owners to finance their campaigns, and are not believed to be in difficulty.
