Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it is withdrawing from Formula One racing, joining a number of other Japanese automakers leaving major motor sports due to the tough business environment.
Toyota decided not to race in the next F1 season because it expects to stay in the red for the second consecutive year in fiscal 2009, according to sources.
"It's quite tough, thinking about fans, but we had no choice but to make this difficult decision when we considered the business environment over the medium and long terms," Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda said Wednesday.