Toyota in shock F1 exit

After suffering its worst ever financial loss, Toyota has taken the drastic measure of pulling out of Formula One to cut costs. It follows BMW and Honda - although arguably the latter's exit led to an injection of excitement into the sport after newcomer Brawn GP took over the team and won the drivers' and constructors' championships.

Toyota finished fifth in the manufacturers' championship this year, its eighth since entering F1 in 2002, though the team has never achieved a race victory despite spending hundreds of millions on the sport. It is expected to post further losses in its forthcoming financial report.

The exit of Toyota means there are no Japanese teams competing in F1, and it comes just after tyre maker Bridgestone announced it will not be renewing its contract to supply tyres to Formula One, in another cost-cutting move. It is likely that Sauber will replace Toyota next season after the FIA granted it the 'reserve' spot, putting it on standby to fill in for any team that withdraws. Sauber was in partnership with BMW until the German maker left F1, and so will now compete alone.

Mark Nichol