Toyota still committed to Formula One
Jarno Trulli will drive for Toyota next season
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Thursday, 15, Jan 2009 09:25
Toyota have reiterated their desire to stay in Formula One after they launched their new car for next season today.
There was speculation that the Toyota would follow fellow Japanese manufacturers Honda, who surprisingly decided to leave Formula One as a result of the global economic crisis.
Despite reporting annual losses of £1.1 billion last year, Toyota president John Howett insisted that he was committed to the sport and asked the all the teams to join together and work towards making Formula One great again.
"Commercially this team has a very strong future," said Howett. "The key issue is whether Formula One continues to deliver the value and return on investment that Toyota expects.
"If it remains the pinnacle of motorsport and a genuine technological challenge, then I can see a long and bright future for the team.
"F1 has been increasing development and cost for many years, and now it's time to step back. For the first time I can see all the teams working together with common sense to survive. The teams more than anyone else understand what's going on in F1, and today the message we are giving is that we are committed to Formula One."
Toyota finished a respectable fifth in the constructor's championship last year, with Jarno Trulli coming in ninth in the drivers' championship and team-mate Timo Glock 10th. Toyota have decided to keep both drivers for the new season.